The last Graham Joyce book I read was The Tooth Fairy and I can't believe I waited this long to read another. This is just so damn good. Set in the early sixties, rural England, the daughter of a traditional midwife, herbalist and occasional abortionist has to cope with suddenly coping all be herself, caught between the demands of the old ways and the modern. That makes it sound a bit worthy and dull, frankly, and it isn't. It's magical and funny and scary and it evokes time and place beautifully. Brilliant.