The Moon out of Reach

Nan Davenant wants money, pleasure and happiness while she is young enough to enjoy them. In a London flat after the war, the restless pianist debates patience with her friend Penelope Craig, a singer whose practical sense helps keep their shared household running. Both have combined professional music with war work, but Nan struggles to settle back into ordinary life. Their affectionate arguments give the opening its mixture of wit, financial worries and artistic ambition.

Margaret Pedler's love story brings that impatience into conflict with the weight of a promise. Reading the marriage service, Nan considers what a lifelong commitment to Roger would mean when her feelings belong to someone else. Friendship and differing temperaments sit alongside the romantic uncertainty. Readers interested in musicians' lives and the pressures surrounding marriage will find a novel that moves from lively domestic conversation to close attention to a young woman's doubts.