# The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/penelope-lively/the-purple-swamp-hen-and-other-stories/9780241978535

JSON version (same data): https://www.bookquiver.com/penelope-lively/the-purple-swamp-hen-and-other-stories/9780241978535.json

![The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin/penelope-lively/the-purple-swamp-hen-and-other-stories_978-02-4197-853-5.jpg?v=2026-04-25%2016%3A57%3A30)

- Book: [The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories](https://www.bookquiver.com/penelope-lively/the-purple-swamp-hen-and-other-stories) ([The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/penelope-lively/the-purple-swamp-hen-and-other-stories.md))
- Authors: [Penelope Lively](https://www.bookquiver.com/penelope-lively)
- Publisher: Penguin
- ISBN: 978-02-4197-853-5
- Pages: 208
- Published: 2017-05-04
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

A dream house that is hiding something sinister; two women having lunch who share a husband; an old woman doing her weekly supermarket shop with a secret past that no one could guess; a couple who don't know each other at all even after fifteen years together; and, in the story from which this collection takes its name, a bird and a servant girl in ancient Pompeii who cannot converse, but share a perfect understanding. In this new and varied collection of short stories, Penelope Lively shows that she remains a master of her craft, and one of our finest English writers.