The Actresses

* Perceptive, poignant, clever and funny, this is a superb and rich novel of a time, and an age, that comes to us all

Sometimes successful, often not, the life of an actress is never dull but what happens when you reach fifty? If you''re an actor, the work pours in; if you''re an actress, suddenly the wrinkles start showing, the boobs sag, that young sprite who''s just left college last year is the tops. So it seems, anyhow, to this group of thespians, now all in their fifties, meeting for a drama school reunion. There''s Juliet, beautiful, brittle star of the stage, all out for her big screen break; lovely Pauline, a good actress in her own right but often overshadowed by her ebullient actor husband Anthony; blowsy, breezy, sexy soap star Molly; the three wise monkeys Emmy Lou, Franny and dear old Harry; sweet Izzy and gorgeous Terence Blue, Hollywood superstar, heart throb extraordinaire. But age doesn''t wipe out desire, ambition or memory. So when the celebrations culminate in an accusation of rape, the past comes flooding back and the present takes extraordinary and unexpected turns.