An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge

Shortlisted for the 1990 Booker Prize, and with a new introduction by Yiyun Li, a darkly comic novel of class, the long shadow of war, and unrequited first love. 

 Liverpool, 1950. Sixteen-year-old Stella is hired as assistant stage manager by a repertory theatre company and soon falls into a heady infatuation with the director, Meredith – failing to notice how he shows not only no interest in her, but in any woman. When the celebrated actor O’Hara arrives to take the lead in their production of Peter Pan, it sets in motion a drama offstage of lost innocence, tragedy and miscommunication.  

 Peopled by a cast of eccentric characters and the air thick with the scent of greasepaint and cigarettes, An Awfully Big Adventure is an evocative and sharp-edged novel for fans of Penelope Fitzgerald, Muriel Spark and Camilla Grudova. 

‘Showcases Bainbridge’s incredible ear for dialogue . . . the perfect introduction to her world where a distinct northern grit is blended with a surrealist’s eye for the absurd.’ CRACK Magazine

Format:Paperback / softback 288 pages
Publisher:Daunt Books
Imprint:Daunt Books
ISBN:9781917092500
Published:12 Mar 2026
Classifications:Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Crime & mystery