Never Closer - by Margot Shepherd (Paperback)

About the Book

Never Closer is a dual time-line novel about how penicillin touches the lives of two women living seventy-five years apart. In 1940 Alice works on the development of penicillin. In 2017, Jo's daughter has bacterial meningitis.

Book Synopsis

When your life changes in a moment, how do you rewrite your story?

In 1940s Britain, with the Second World War raging, Alice is working in a laboratory developing a new miracle medicine. Made to leave school at sixteen and abandon her aspiration to be a teacher, she learns instead how curing people may be her destiny.

In the present day, Jo, already in a failing marriage, is devastated when she hears her daughter's life is on a knife edge. At her bedside Jo starts to read Alice's diary, found the previous day in a vintage handbag.

A door opens onto the past, revealing a young woman's fierce determination to succeed against all odds. Past and present overlap and merge as life-changing events resonate across the gulf of time.

This is a story of a mother whose life is blown apart. Now she must find a way to put it back together. Can Alice show her the way?

"I devoured this book. The characters are rich and their stories compelling." - Goodreads reviewer

"This is a tale that will wring your heart and feed your soul. Don't pass it up!" - I'm a Voracious Reader

"Timeless themes, beautifully packaged." - Something by Jane

Review Quotes

"Never Closer is an impeccably researched call for the recognition of women's contribution to medical research and an utterly absorbing cross-generational coming of age tale in which redemption comes through the agency of other women. A story that soaks into the memory and stays there." - Katherine Mezzacappa, Author of The Maiden of Florence

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this lovely book. It is beautifully written, elegantly linking the life of a present-day woman with another from the 1940s. A real pleasure to read and highly recommended." - Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★

"I quickly became engrossed in this novel set with clever threads linking events in the present day with the life-saving production of penicillin during the second world war. The powerful bond between mother and daughter are portrayed with great feeling. It was an easy yet fascinating read, and I learnt a lot about the work of the women in the Oxford labs who had to work hard to keep pace with the demand created by the war. I especially like the ending.....what a great first novel!" - Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★

"Never Closer beautifully explores the strength that someone else's written words can give to us." - Armed With a Book ★★★★★

"Margot Shepherd has cleverly interwoven the lives of the two women, living in very different times and yet facing very similar life challenges: loss, grief and finding the courage to step forward into the life they want to pursue. Timeless themes, beautifully packaged." - Something By Jane ★★★★★

"A fascinating book about the early production of penicillin with two parallel stories brought together by the chance discovery of Alice's diary from 1941 by Jo in 2018. I really enjoyed the way the two eras were woven together. I also enjoyed the references to Barnsley where I grew up from the ages of 6 to 15. I couldn't put the book down and can heartily recommend it." - Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★

"Never Closer is an excellent novel, engaging, informative and well-written. This is a book which will move readers, particularly if you are a parent, showing not just the power of medicine to heal but also the power of love to make a difference." - Portobello Book Blog ★★★★★

"Margot Shepherd knows how to tell a story and this one hits a nerve that connects women and mothers across the generations." - Martine McDonagh, Author of Narcissism for Beginners

"An intriguing, touching story about the power of love - and science - to heal." - Laura Wilkinson, Author of Crossing the Line