Sculptor's Daughter

Tove Jansson (1914-2001) is best known as the creator of the much loved Moomin stories for children. However, in her fifties she turned her attention to writing for adults, producing a dozen novels and story collections. Sculptor's Daughter was the first, in 1968, followed by The Listener, three years later, which will be published by June 2014 [9781908745361].

As an artefact, it's a jewel with evocative black and white photographs throughout ... Jansson's narrator is wise but not precocious and has an authentic way of parroting adult observations. It's easy to see how this child, full of love and wonder, became the woman who gave us the philosophical Moomintrolls.