The Black Dress by Deborah Moggach

The Black Dress by Deborah Moggach is a darkly comic novel about Pru, a woman in her sixties whose husband suddenly leaves her. In her loneliness, she stumbles into a stranger’s funeral and, finding unexpected comfort there, begins attending more funerals in a borrowed black dress—pretending to know the deceased to connect with others.

The book mixes humour with poignant reflections on aging, loneliness, and the search for love. Pru is a flawed yet relatable character, and Moggach’s sharp, witty storytelling makes this an entertaining and thoughtful read.