THIS AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN CLASSIC IS AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION

'A breathtaking first novel' WALKER PERCY

'Filled with lively humour, compassion and integrity' ALICE HOFFMAN, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

'A work of considerable subtlety and intellectual sophistication' JONATHAN YARDLEY, WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

'When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy.'

So begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kaye Gibbons's first novel, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. The story of an eleven-year-old orphan, driven to desperation by some of the wickedest relatives in literary history, this is the story of her battle for survival. Her courage, her humour, and her wisdom are unforgettable as she tells her own story with stunning honesty and insight.