Cotters' England, a novel by Christina Stead, follows the lives of Nellie Cook, sister Peggy Cotter and brother Tom. Set in post-war England, it is a study of politics and betrayal in Nellie's professional and personal life. It is a story of smothered aspirations and dashed hopes, it is class politics that traps the Cotters and stifles their attempts to break free from the boundaries of the working- and middle-class. The book also an exploration of love and sexuality. An undercurrent of incestuous love and a lesbian relationship add further strain to Nellie's relationships with family and friends, driving one of them to suicide. By the renowned author of The Man Who Loved Children, it is the first Stead work to be set wholly in England. It weaves a strange and compelling story that explores the limits of class, politics, love and sexuality.
