Who hasn't imagined winning the lottery or coming into an inheritance? Wouldn't it be great to chuck your old workaday life and live it up somewhere else? At the start ofWish Her Safe at Home, Rachel Waring seems to be experiencing a dream come true: out of nowhere, her great-aunt leaves her a mansionand she moves in without delay. Gone is Rachel's administrative job, her mousy wardrobe, her downer of a roommate. From now on she will be a woman of leisure, devoted to beauty, creativity, and expression. She plants a garden, takes up writing, and impresses everyone she meets with her extraordinary optimism. But as we watch Rachel singing and joking away her days, we begin to wonder if she might be taking her transformation just a bit too far. InWish Her Safe at Home, Stephen Benatar has created a masterpiece of humor and horror. In the words ofThe Times Literary Supplement, Rachel is "Scarlett O'Hara, Blanche DuBois, Snow White, and Miss Havisham all rolled into one."

Stephen Benatar was born in Baker Street. He taught English at the University of Bordeaux, lived in Southern California, and is now a full-time writer. Wish Her Safe at Home was a runnerup for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

John Carey is a British literary critic and Professor Emeritus of English Literature at the University of Oxford.