A Short Road to Longbrook

by Bethan Roberts

'A tangled tale of maternal inheritance... A must' PATRICK GALE, author of Notes from an Exhibition

A tender story of mothers, daughters and breaking family patterns, from the author of bestseller My Policeman which became the hit film starring Harry Styles

When Winnie is happy, Lillian is happy, too.

It’s the mid-1960s and Lillian Wells is a clever teenager with a daring pixie cut, tangerine mini-dress and new boyfriend, Jim, who works at the brewery. Even better, he lives across the road, so she’s never far from her bee-hived, high-heeled single mother Winnie, who is prone to attacks of the nerves. But Lillian harbours secret dreams of going to art school in London. When she gets in, how will she tell her mother – and Jim – that she’s leaving Abingdon – and them?

Forty years later, Lillian’s own daughter Rachel is heading off to university, but Lillian is not sure either of them are ready. She sees herself and Winnie in Rachel, who is ambitious and intelligent, but also prone to nervous habits. As Lillian tries to bite her tongue about Rachel’s symptoms, she is reminded of what everyone in Abingdon used to It’s a short road to Longbrook… the local institution for the mentally ill. Lillian knows this is all too true, but in a family where secrets run through generations like the rushing waters of the local river, can she bring herself to break the cycle and tell Rachel the truth about her past?

‘Roberts is an exceptionally tender and empathetic writer’ GRAZIA
'Profoundly moving and utterly comepelling' JAKE ARNOTT, author of The Long Firm

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 3, 2026

About the author

Bethan Roberts was born in Abingdon. Her first novel 'The Pools' was published in 2007 and won a Jerwood/Arvon Young Writers’ Award. Her second novel 'The Good Plain Cook', published in 2008, was serialized on BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime and was chosen as one of Time Out’s books of the year. 'My Policeman' was published by Chatto and Windus in February 2012 and was selected as that year's City Read for Brighton. Her latest novel, 'Mother Island', is longlisted for the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. She also writes short stories (in 2006 she was awarded the Olive Cook short story prize by the Society of Authors) and drama for BBC Radio 4. Bethan has worked as a television documentary researcher, writer and assistant producer, and has taught Creative Writing at Chichester University and Goldsmiths College, London. She lives in Brighton with her family.

Reviews

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely heartfelt book that became increasingly hard to put down as it progressed. Told over several decades from the sixties it is an insightful tale of mother daughter relationships and how episodes of mental health crisis can impact familial feelings. The characters all have their flaws but are well meaning and totally believable as well as relatable particularly as they grow up in the sixties. It is tenderly written and totally absorbing.

[Nicola Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lillian is a teenager in the 1960s and seems to have the world at her feet. She lives with her mother, Winnie, at 25 Mason Road, is happy studying and thinking ahead to possibly fulfilling her dreams of going to art school, and she has a new boyfriend Jim, who she enjoys going dancing with. There’s always the perpetual issue of Winnie’s nerves lurking in the background though, and the question of Lillian’s father. Lillian’s story forms the majority of the book but there are also sections in 2005 as Rachel, Lillian’s daughter, prepares to go to university. Lillian sees many of the same traits in Rachel as she and her own mother had and she worries for Rachel’s future.

Lillian grew up hearing ‘it’s a short road to Longbrook’ the fear and stigma of being incarcerated in the local hospital for the mentally ill never far from the minds of the locals. Indeed, Longbrook casts a long shadow over the characters of this book, at a time when mental health problems were something to be whispered about and kept secret.

Within a few pages of starting this wonderful book I had already grown wistful at the memory of the ‘club book’ (the catalogue where Winnie gets her striking red curtains) and had smiled at the observations of life that seemed somehow so familiar and real. I knew then that I was going to love this book and I really did adore every moment of it. It examines the complicated relationships that are passed down from Winnie to Lillian, and then to Rachel, a pattern that Lillian wants to see broken for the sake of her daughter.

Beautifully written with incredibly perceptive insights into the minds of the complex characters, A Short Road to Longbrook is a captivating novel which deserves to be read and talked about. I couldn’t have loved it more.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant, subtle and beautifully written study of motherhood, mental health and family secrets.

There's nothing hurried about this novel, it's steady pace and charming prose make it a pleasure to read. It centre's primarily around Lillian growing up with her single mum, Winnie in the 1960s, but at the same time we follow Lillian struggling through her young adult years and later again as single mum to Rachel.

I very much enjoyed 'A Short Road to Longbrook' and look forward to reading some more books by Bethan Roberts.

[Helen Haythornthwaite · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

I absolutely adored this one! It’s such a beautifully written piece of literary/ historical fiction - a family saga which spans the decades from the 1960s to the 2000s.

It’s an intricately-woven story which explores the relationship between two mothers and their daughters. In 1965, we meet Winnie and her daughter, Lillian, while in 2005 we meet Lillian as a mother with her daughter, Rachel.

It’s mainly a character-driven novel which gives us a deep insight into these mother-daughter relationships from which, initially, the fathers are conspicuously absent. In 1965, we see Lillian’s dreams put on hold as she struggles with looking after her mentally unstable mother while wanting to pursue the career path she has chosen for herself.

In 2005, Lillian worries that her daughter is showing similar traits to her mother, and seems to be making matters worse, rather than better, with her own neuroses. The narrative does mainly focus on Lillian, both in her role as daughter and mother. She’s a complex character: moulded by her mother, saddened by grief, forever searching for answers, and a victim of circumstances too.

The novel also explores the relationships which Winnie and Lillian have with men, but the over-riding premise is their struggle with mental health and wellbeing. It’s not always easy to read, but the author has written about this with empathy - and even though there’s a lot of frustration and regret, there are glimmers of hope that Lillian and her daughter will find a way through.

I was totally riveted to this family’s story, and found it such an intriguing read. I could quite happily have spent more time in their company.

With many thanks to the publisher for sending me a proof of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Helen Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As familiar, nostalgic, delicious and satisfying as a cream bun from Trotman’s, this novel is an absolute treat. It stretched its narrative fingers into my heart and squeezed tight for good and bad.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Short Road to Longbrook is intensely readable, and so truthful about the human condition and inherited ways of processing trauma. If you’re looking for a book with happy endings, this is certainly not it, but this work doesn’t shy away from keeping on after life doesn’t go the way you’ve planned.

It explores three timelines - In 2005, in the small village of Abingdon, Rachel is going off to college and worries about her mother’s ability to cope without her. We don’t know it yet, but this concern eerily mirrors her own mother, Lillian’s, life story. The story then switches to the 1960s, where Lillian is growing up under the care of her own mentally ill, single mother, Winnie. The adolescent Lillian falls in love and is accepted to a prestigious art school in London, but when her mother suffers a spell of depression at the thought of Lillian leaving her for college, Lillian makes choices to protect her mother that ultimately result in her losing both school and her lover, and ends up in Longbrook herself. The story switches back and forth to past and present, with a stint in the 1980s, revealing narrative truths from the past because of the characters inability to ignore their consequences in the present.

The title is actually quite funny - it refers to a local saying, “It’s a Short Road to Longbrook”, which alludes to how easily life can happen and you might find yourself in the Longbrook Psychiatric Hospital.

The thesis chapter i just finished heavily explored Irish motherhood and passing on the ability (or inability) to integrate trauma to our children. this was such a wonderful novel to read directly after this research, and is honestly a really interesting parallel piece to Niamh Mulvey’s The Amendments (aside from obviously being set in England, not Ireland, and being much more concerned with mental health over religion). If these themes are of interest to you, I highly recommend picking up a copy! 🤍🧡

Many thanks to @vintagebooks for the proof.

[lucy black · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Lillian and her mother Winnie and her daughter Rachel. Lillian is coming of age in the 1960's in a village with her solo mum. She likes art, her glamorous friend Gwen and dancing with her boyfriend Jim. Her school days are coming to an end and Lillian is growing to big for her life, she wants to live in London she wants to go to art school. A Lillian tries to stretch her wings she is hampered by her mum's mental health and the working class values they have lived with.

The plot switches between Lillian in the 60's and Lillian as an adult who is watching her own daughter get ready to leave home and go to university. Lillian reflects on what caused her life to unravel, the things that her mum passed on to her and the things she was told and not told.

This is a very easy to read and engaging novel, Bethan Roberts is skilled at creating a scene and drawing the reader in to the little worlds of the characters. The dialogue is on point and the wee details of clothing, smells, particular bits of decor are perfect. The plot is slightly plodding and dry but there is enough mystery to keep the reader intrigued. Interestingly the fleeting scenes of sex and nature were the best; the parts with the river, Mick, the hospital grounds and the fire.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deals with mental health across a family saga and follows different Menderes going through different passages in time. Particularly liked the unfolding childhood period of Lillian growing up.

[Vicci Vicci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another quick read which kept my interest. I found the writing a bit rigid and over detailed at times

[Olivia Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. I loved every page and it made me cry at the end. No notes, at all. Just fantastic. 5*

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

poignant and beautiful.