Bad Attitudes
Written by Agnes Owens / Introduction by Jenni Fagan
£8.99
- Paperback
- E-Book
Reviews
Agnes Owens is one of Scotland's finest writers, and it's to be hoped that a new readership is about to discover that for themselves
SNACK Magazine
‘Agnes Owens was such a fine writer. Her best stories are great stories . . . she created an art that will endure’
James Kelman
About the Book
Bad Attitudes is a wickedly dark tale of Scottish council housing and murder. This novella boasts a missing person, a lethally nosy neighbour, an extra-marital affair, a lusty councillor and a new housing law for tinkers. Who but Agnes Owens could concoct such a delicious brew of dour hilarity.
Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.
The Authors
Agnes Owens
Agnes Owens was always a writer, although for the majority of her life she was preoccupied with making a living and domesticity. She married twice, brought up seven children and variously worked as a typist, cleaner and factory worker. It wasn’t until she attended an evening creative writing course that she wrote her first novel Gentlemen of the West, published in 1984 by Polygon to widespread critical acclaim; she would go on to write a further five novellas, including A Working Mother and For the Love of Willie, and three short-story collections. She died in 2014.
Jenni Fagan
Dr Jenni Fagan is an award-winning poet, novelist and screenwriter. After the publication of her debut novel, The Panopticon, Jenni was selected as one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. She has been on lists including the Desmond Elliott Prize, James Tait Black, Sunday Times Short Story Prize and the BBC International Story Prize. The Sunlight Pilgrims saw her win Scottish Author of the Year at the Herald Culture Awards. Her third novel Luckenbooth was praised in The New York Times Book Review, who named her The Patron Saint of Literary Street Urchins. In 2022, Polygon published her novel, Hex, and The Bone Library, a poetry collection written during her time as a Writer in Residence at the Dick Vet Bone Library. Her memoir Ootlin published in 2024, alongside her seventh poetry collection A Swan's Neck on the Butcher's Block. Fagan recently wrote two hundred poems for a collectors book called Heart of the Spirit, celebrating 200 years of The Macallan whisky.
You may also like…
-
Paperback | Pub: 03 Sep 2026£8.99
In Jen’s Party, soon-to-be fifteen-year-old Jen immediately regrets agreeing to her crazy Aunt Belle’s plan for a birthday party which involves, among other notions, flirting with the town’s entire male population. With a perfectly tuned ear...
-
Paperback | Pub: 07 May 2026£8.99
The building trade in the west of Scotland has slowed, and Mac leaves his home and his companions in the Paxton Arms for the oil-rich north to seek his fortune. But he soon finds himself out in the wilderness, chasing the promise of a job. In the...
-
Paperback | Pub: 07 May 2026£8.99
One of the List‘s Best Scottish Books of All Time Peggy is sixteen, ambitious and wants to get a job to help her rise above her current predicament. Soon, she is employed at Willie Roper’s corner shop. But before long, her situation goes...
-
Paperback | Pub: 07 May 2026£8.99
Gentlemen of the West, Agnes Owens’ debut novel, was first published in 1984 to wide critical acclaim. The novel follows the humorous exploits of Mac, a young bricklayer, who, along with a colourful cast of characters, seeks solace and escape in...
-
Paperback | Pub: 07 May 2026£8.99
A Working Mother is a perfectly crafted novel that will enthral, entertain and surprise in equal measure. Our unreliable narrator, Betty – arch, witty, clever – is married with children and feels trapped. While her husband, Adam, drinks and...
