Zoe

A baby's christening unsettles the village of Downside when her unusual name brings a startling response from the church organist. Zoe is a foundling, taken in by the Grays after being discovered in their garden. Gray earns a labourer's small and uncertain wage, and the neighbours question the wisdom of adding another mouth to feed. Evelyn Whitaker gives these practical worries room alongside the awkward comedy of the church service.

The novel also follows Mr Robins, the organist, whose interest in the child becomes entangled with his suspicions about Jane Sands. Jane's secretive work on baby clothes and her hesitant requests leave him trying to make sense of her behaviour. Domestic details, village opinion and acts of kindness carry the story's questions about responsibility for a child. Readers drawn to British village fiction will find a close view of household economies and the feelings hidden behind ordinary conversations.