The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Chambers, Clare. Small Pleasures. HarperCollins, 2021.

Clare Chambers' novel Small Pleasures is written from the third person point of view. The novel is set in the London suburbs, and traces the months between June of 1957 and December of 1957. The narrative is most interested in following the protagonist Jean Swinney's experiences and internal evolution.

Jean Swinney was 39 and writing for the North Kent Echo newspaper the year that she began work on a mysterious piece of reporting. A woman named Gretchen Tilbury wrote in to the paper in response to a piece they published on parthenogenesis. She claimed that her daughter was the result of a virgin birth. Believing Jean would be the best agent for the task, her editor Roy, assigned her to the story.

Upon meeting Gretchen Tilbury at her home in Sidcup, Jean was immediately taken by her appearance and life. Gretchen was not only beautiful, but had an idyllic home and a covetable relationship with her darling daughter. Because Jean was unmarried, childless, and lived alone with her mother, she could not help but envy Gretchen's familial situation.

During their meeting, Gretchen explained to Jean that she had never had sex before Margaret's birth. Her mother believed her story, because Gretchen was interned at St. Cecilia's clinic for rheumatoid arthritis at the time of the alleged conception. Intrigued by this revelation, Jean decided to speak to Gretchen's husband Howard.

When Jean met Howard, she was struck by how homely he seemed in comparison to his lovely wife. Howard explained that he had married Gretchen out of love, but that the arrangement had indeed protected Gretchen. He also alluded to Gretchen's companions during her days on the ward. Jean decided to get in touch with them, too.

Not long after making her acquaintance, the Tilburys began inviting Jean to their home for social visits. Jean loved being in their company. However, she often felt confused by their dynamic. The more time she spent with them, the more Gretchen seemed to be urging Jean and Howard toward intimacy. Already feeling guilty about her growing attachment to Howard, Jean was unsure what to make of this dynamic.

Because Jean was becoming increasingly close with the Tilbury family, she let her work on Gretchen's story lapse. Indeed, she had even realized that she was in love with Howard. Whenever they were alone together, she found herself confessing things she had never confessed to anyone. One day, while on an outing together, Jean told Howard about her heartbreak. Ten years prior, after getting pregnant out of wedlock, she had an abortion. Although the baby's father was a cad, Jean still had regrets about giving up the baby.

Gretchen left Howard and ran off with a woman named Martha. Martha was one of Gretchen's companions from the ward. The women had been in love for years. Although Jean felt sorry for Howard, she also saw the revelation of Gretchen's sexuality as an opportunity for herself.

Shortly before the publication of her piece, Jean discovered the truth about Margaret's birth. Through another series of interviews, she learned that the clinic's former matron had kept her unwell nephew on the ward. While Gretchen was drugged on sleeping pills one night, the nephew snuck into her room and raped her.

Jean and Howard decided to pursue a relationship. Jean was thrilled, as loving Howard had reopened her heart. However, on the night Howard was meant to meet Jean's mother, he was killed in a train accident.