Agnes Owens

A mordant, cautionary tale about a working-class woman who’s hemmed in on all sides, by “the most unfairly neglected” of all Scottish writers (Alasdair Gray). “I’ve got a job,” I told Adam. “Good for you. I can now relinquish all responsibility for this household then?” “And I can save up for a divorce.” “So, let’s celebrate,” said Adam. Between her alcoholic husband Adam and their smart-mouthed kids, Betty’s being driven crazy. She has high hopes for her affair with their attractive friend Brendan, but he proves to be another disappointment. As is her new job: her decrepit boss has roving hands and a magnum opus he wants her help typing up after hours. Is it any wonder she’s hitting the bottle now too? Not since Muriel Spark has there been a Scottish writer so attuned to the black humor and surreal potential of the banalities and frustrations of ordinary existence. A Working Mother is a “sly, hilarious tale about one woman’s search for meaning” (Kirkus) in a miserable, messy world.

Lean Tales comprises Agnes Owens’ complete life's work in short stories. Witty and dark, Owens’ spare prose shocks and delights. Her talent for pithy, unsettling tales is as sharp as ever, confirming her place as one of Scotland’s finest contemporary writers. Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.

In Jen’s Party, soon-to-be fifteen-year-old Jen immediately regrets agreeing to her crazy Aunt Belle’s plan for a birthday party which involves, among other notions, flirting with the town’s entire male population. With a perfectly tuned ear for the droll and the deadly, Owens can spin a tale of domestic mayhem that is at once disarmingly tense and movingly human. Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.

Bad Attitudes is a wickedly dark tale of Scottish council housing and murder. This novella boasts a missing person, a lethally nosy neighbour, an extra-marital affair, a lusty councillor and a new housing law for tinkers. Who but Agnes Owens could concoct such a delicious brew of dour hilarity. Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.

Gentlemen of the West is Agnes Owens’ first novel. It is the acutely observed series of episodes in the life of the narrator, a 22-year-old bricklayer whose situation and lifestyle will be immediately identifiable to many readers.

The building trade in the west of Scotland has slowed and Mac leaves for the oil-rich north to seek his fortune. But he soon finds himself out in the wilderness, chasing the promise of a job. In the meantime, he’s fallen for Nancy, but he can’t tear himself away from the other love of his life: the drink. This darkly comic novel is a tale of addiction, masculinity and the precarious nature of employment for working-class men in 1980s Scotland.

Peggy is turning a dark girlhood romance into a novel and is trying to get her fellow inmate at the mental hospital, known as the Duchess, to read the manuscript. Frankly the duchess would prefer a Mills and Boon, but her friend’s wartime tragi-comedy soon gets a grip on her imagination. For the Love of Willie is a compassionate look at wartime pregnancy and teenage predicaments through the eyes of Peggy, first as a shy sixteen year-old in love and later as an inmate in a psychiatric hospital.

A Working Mother is a wildly entertaining cautionary tale: while Betty’s husband, Adam, broods and drinks (to be matched at times by Betty, just to be sociable) she flirts with their best friend Brendan and tries to avoid the roving hands of her new employer. They’re all driving Betty crazy. A sharp, darkly humorous novella that explores the life of a working-class woman caught in a destructive relationship and an unforgiving society. Agnes Owen’s sharp wit, humour and lean prose is beautifully displayed in this tragi-comedy.

Bad Attitudes is a wickedly dark tale of Scottish council housing and murder. This first of two novellas also boasts a missing person, a lethally nosy neighbour, an extra-marital affair, a lusty councillor and a new housing law for tinkers. Who but Agnes Owens could concoct such a delicious brew of dour hilarity and then follow it with an unforgettable party? In Jen's Party, soon-to-be fifteen-year-old Jen immediately regrets agreeing to her crazy Aunt Belle's plan for a birthday party which involves, among other notions, flirting with the town's entire male population. With a perfectly tuned ear for the droll and the deadly, Owens can spin a tale of domestic mayhem that is at once disarmingly tense and movingly human.

A collection of stories by the author of "A Working Mother". They present characters often clumped together and dismissed in categories called the elderly, homeless, bereaved and drug-addicted. Agnes Owens is also the author of "Gentlemen of the West" and "Birds in the Wilderness".