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Isobel Shirlaw was born in 1981. She has written for The Times Literary Supplement, The i, The Daily Telegraph and The Catholic Herald in the UK and for Bangladeshi broadsheets, New Age and The Daily Star. In 2019 she won the Fresher Poetry Prize and was highly commended in the Poetry Space competition. After studying English at St John’s College, Oxford University, she worked on the features desk of The Daily Telegraph (2003–2006) and as a political analyst for the British High Commission, Bangladesh (2007–2008). She later worked for Refuge, the national UK domestic violence charity (2009–2018), in which time she gave extensive media interviews (including on BBC, ITV and Sky) about the failure of the police to protect victims. Based in the UK, in recent years she has lived in Bangladesh and Egypt and has three young children. A Proper Mother is her first novel and she is currently writing her second, The One That Got Away. She also writes children’s stories and is finalising her first poetry collection.
'I devoured this truly superb and extraordinary book. A modern tragedy with such a rich tapestry and characters that got under my skin. I can't praise this book highly enough - it's a must-read that will haunt me for a long time!' Kathryn Croft, author of The Girl With No Past
