Set in London and in the north of England, beginning in 1979, this grand and sweeping tragicomedy tells the story of three women –psychiatrist Liz Headleand, art historian Esther Breuer, and social worker Alix Bowen. Strong, articulate, witty, and opinionated, they find their personal and professional lives changed by national political events, as they bravely undertake the adventures of middle age. Disconcerting things happen to them –divorce, unsuitable affairs, unemployment, family illnesses and deaths, and even a terrifyingly close brush with a murderer. As the stories of their lives, and the lives of the people around them, unfold in rich detail, Drabble constructs a dazzling, panoramic tale. Large in scope and ambition, The Radiant Way is a brilliant chronicle of modern life from one of the world’s most accomplished novelists.