Help me find a book I read once

[Tallisker]

Quite a few years ago I read a book I'd love to find again but can't remember the title or the author.

It was a story about three generations of women living in the same house on different floors, daughter, mother, grandmother, and the daughter lived on the top floor and had dragons. Or saw dragons. Might have had a skylight.

That's about as much as I remember, don't know what else the story was about. It was probably a feminist-themed book, given the friend that lent it to me was a very strong feminist and socialist.

She also lent me Isabel Allende and Margaret Forster, that kind of thing.

Any ideas?

Hmm no idea but bumping as sounds intriguing

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, by Ruth Pennebaker?

Not set in China was it?

Or 'My Grandmother Sends her Regards and Apologises', by Fredrick Backman?

Ooo thank you! Women on the verge of a nervous breakthrough sounds so close, but the book I read must have been published much earlier than that, I think I read it in my 20s or 30s and I'm 60 now. Perhaps should have mentioned that in my first post 🙄

I don't remember it being set in China, more likely London

Long shot, and I don't know if there's ever been a novel, but it reminds me of the radio & TV comedy After Henry, which was a mother, daughter and grandmother all living in the same house, divided into flats, set in London. Don't recall any dragons, though, so probably not this.

After Henry Simon Brett?

That sounds familiar - was the mother a gardener/ landscape gardener? And early in the book there’s a scene from each character's point of view as they walk across Hampstead Heath or somewhere similar?

After Henry was sounding familiar, but I realise it's probably the sitcom/radio show I remember. With Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales - wonder if anyone calls their baby Prunella these days?)

The landscape gardening may be tugging at a slight memory, don't remember about Hampstead Heath.

I'm think perhaps the dragons were the daughter's imaginary friends, not real ones 😁

@tedgran That's the one I was thinking of. Prunella Scales was the mum, the widow of a doctor. She had a teenage daughter and an elderly mum. Iirc she worked in a bookshop, and her boss/friend was gay.

This book is Three Times Table by Sara Maitland

I’m so excited, this is the only “what book was this” I have ever got first!

If it's not Sara Maitland, could it be Deborah Moggach?

Oh @SheilaFentiman I think you might be right! Wow thank you! And it's published by Virago, which I'd sort-of remembered but wasn't confident enough to say.

And while browsing found this

The Talisker Dead: A D.I. Duncan McAdam Mystery: 3 (The Misty Isle) amzn.eu/d/5Ke9E6U

I think this is the book I half-remembered, though I’d completely forgotten about the dragons! Thank you @SheilaFentiman

@EllieQ yes, it is. Phoebe, the daughter/mother in the middle, was a gardener.