> Skip to content
[]
  • Published: 20 October 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529984583
  • Imprint: Vintage Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $19.99

We Were Forbidden



Embark on a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Jacqueline Harpman, author of I Who Have Never Known Men, with this startling new collection of three never-before-translated stories, about orders given and defied.

A startling new collection of three never-before-translated stories, from the author of I Who Have Never Known Men

In the wake of some unfathomable war, a woman wanders the forest, forbidden from ever leaving its strange depths. As part of her rigid schooling, a teenage girl is barred from questioning the dogma she is taught to believe. Locked in a loveless marriage, a young woman satisfies her husband’s desires, twice-weekly, as directed – until she begins to pursue her own.

Includes the stories: The Ardennes Forest, The Outcast and The Broom Cupboard

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days

  • Published: 20 October 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529984583
  • Imprint: Vintage Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $19.99

Also by Jacqueline Harpman

See all
penguin pop image
penguin pop image