A Radical Romance: A Memoir of Love, Grief and Consolation

Peter Parker, the chairman of the judges of the 2020 PEN Ackerley prize said:

"A Radical Romance is not only an extremely frank account of a love affair and marriage between two people who came to left-wing politics through very different routes, and were instrumental in rethinking the way in which we view and record history. It also provides a vivid and funny picture of a less than comfortable life in a tumble-down Georgian house in Spitalfields while all around them developers had begun swallowing up the area. Finally, Light weaves into her narrative a fascinating enquiry into both memory and the memoir form. All these elements combined to make this thoughtful, moving and beautifully written book our unanimous choice as this year’s winner."

A Radical Romance: A Memoir of Love, Grief and Consolation, published by Fig Tree/Penguin. Available at www.penguin.co.uk

Listen to Alison reading from the book

"All the complex shades and colours that we expect in fiction. A Radical Romance is more than just some summing-up: it is a work of art."
The Guardian

A Radical Romance book cover

"Admirable...she writes with precision and tenderness."
The Observer

"Funny and moving and deserves to be widely read."
The Spectator