Hideous Kinky

Esther Freud''s best-known novel, which inspired the Kate Winslet film, featuring beautiful cover art by Oliver Hibert.

''We were still hours from Marrakech when the van backfired, veered sharply off the road into a field, and shuddered to a halt.''

Julia, a beautiful young idealist, travels to Morocco with her two small daughters, intent on finding an alternative to the stultifying conventions of English life.

Unable to settle upon a suitable lover let alone one of the many spiritual paths on offer, she allows her children to roam the streets and bazaars unchecked. Her daughters, however, would like nothing more than the simple ordinary life their mother seeks to escape in this hot, arid land.

''A remarkable triumph'' Sunday Telegraph