Sucking Shrimp

Published in 2001 by Hodder and Stoughton.

A precocious teenager growing up in an English seaside town during the late 1970s, Rosa barge longs for escape. The only glamour in her world comes from the life of her heroine, Fanny Cradock. Cradock's exotic concoctions of Crêpe Suzette, Tournedos Rossini with mauve Duchesse Potatoes and the Taj Mahal made from Italian meringue speak to her of foreign climes and sophistication.

But When Rosa finally does escape, she finds that 'abroad' is not quite what she expected. Bereft of the securities she knew in England, she finds that the earthy, picaresque realities of Spain cause her to question who she really is and force her to deal with unpleasant truths about her past. A past which is gradually catching up with her...

As vivid as a Baz Luhrmann movie. The Face

Racy style... invigorating intelligence... entirely seductive... Glowing descriptions of food, sex and drugs make this almost as good as a trip to Barcelona. Esquire

Stephanie Theobald is a natural story teller. Vogue