Home / 2026 Birlinn Spring Titles / A Working Mother A Working Mother by Agnes Owens A Working Mother SKU: 9781846977015 Category: 2026 Birlinn Spring Titles £8.99 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. Agnes Owens was married twice and raised seven children, and worked as a cleaner, typist and factory worker. Her books include People Like That and For the Love of Willie, which was shortlisted for the 1998 Stakis Prize. Her short stories appeared alongside those of her friends and fellow authors James Kelman and Alasdair Gray in Lean Tales. Bad Attitudes, which consists of two novellas ('Bad Attitudes' and 'Jen's Party'), was longlisted for the 2003 Saltire Literary Awards. She died in 2014. Kirstin Innes is an award-winning writer, journalist and arts worker living in the west of Scotland. Her first novel Fishnet won The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize in 2015, and is currently in development for television with STV. Her second novel Scabby Queen was published by 4th Estate in 2020, and she is currently developing a play with the National Theatre of Scotland. ISBN: 9781846977015 Publication date: 07/05/2026 Format: Paperback Extent: 176 pages Publisher: Birlinn Ltd Categories: 2026 Birlinn Spring Titles
