VIKKI HEYWOOD
It is 1951 and behind the counter of a modest post office in a leafy Buckinghamshire village Miss Dora Ham and Miss Beatrix Veal maintain their careful facade as respected local spinsters. Together they have built a life of quiet dignity and service in rural England. Now over the course of one pivotal day their carefully constructed world begins to fracture. Changes that will lead to heart-breaking decisions for Miss Veal and Miss Ham.At the heart of this intimate, moving and witty novel is a story of resilience, the dignity of love that cannot be spoken, and the challenges that come when the future no longer feels safe.​
The moving and surprising story of a discreet love, put to its greatest test amongst the tuppenny-ha’penny stamps and mint imperials of a little English post office at the start of the 1950s.
Reverend Richard Coles
Tender, delightful and heartbreaking, I absolutely couldn't put this book down.
Karen McLeod
A gloriously warm-hearted tribute to the courage of hidden lives.
Francis Spufford
‘We are delighted to discover Vikki Heywood, her wonderful debut novel leapt out of our inbox and into our hearts, a tender yet sharply observed look at lesbian love later in life. As they face a pivotal moment, the indomitable Miss Veal and Miss Ham look back over forty decades together’
PRESS RELEASE
Muswell Press is delighted to announce the acquisition of World Rights in​​
Miss Veal and Miss Ham
By Vikki Heywood​​​​
​
​For publication in paperback & ebook
in July 2025
Public companions, private lovers…. It is 1951 and behind the counter of a modest post office in a leafy Buckinghamshire village Miss Dora Ham and Miss Beatrix Veal maintain their careful façade as respected local spinsters. But their true story is one of passion: suffragist activists who fell in love at a rally in the 1900s, danced in London's secret gay clubs between the wars, and comforted one another during the first night of the Blitz. Together they have built a life of quiet dignity and service in rural England.
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Now over the course of one pivotal day their carefully constructed world begins to fracture. Through Beatrix’s wry perspective we witness the severe impact of post-war changes on their peaceful existence. Changes that will lead to heart-breaking decisions for Miss Veal and Miss Ham.
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At the heart of this intimate, moving and witty novel is a story of resilience, the dignity of love that cannot be spoken, and the challenges that come when the future no longer feels safe.