IN AN AGE OF COMPARISON CULTURE AND GLOSSY SOCIAL-MEDIA LIVES, IT’S HARD NOT TO QUESTION YOUR OWN PROGRESS. BUT THERE’S NO RIGHT PATH TO LIFE AS THESE WOMEN, WHO ARE TURNING CONVENTION ON ITS HEAD AND SHARING WISDOM AS THEY GO, DEMONSTRATE…

by Harriet Lane (£20, HB, Orion) What lies beneath the image we construct of ourselves? Ruth, newly divorced and drifting as her daughter leaves home, feels invisible – until Sookie, her dazzling form

THE EMMY-WINNING ACTOR TELLS Shannon Mahanty ABOUT PLAYING THE OUTSIDER, HER FIGHT FOR WORKING-CLASS REPRESENTATION AND WHY SHE’S STILL LEARNING TO SIT STILL – EVEN WHEN THE SEAT’S WARM...

The contemporary fiction writer talks to Zoe West

Zoe West shares her favourite picks for the week

PHOTOGRAPHY: KAROLINA ŻEBROWSKA Book Frock HORROR From 17th-century ...