''The Fifth Child'' is a short novel by the British writer

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remain ...

, first published in the United Kingdom in 1988, and since translated into several languages. It describes the changes in the happy life of a married couple, Harriet and David Lovatt, as a consequence of the birth of Ben, their fifth child. A sequel, '' Ben, in the World'' (2000) recounts Ben's life after he has left his family.

Plot

When David Lovatt meets Harriet at an office party, they both immediately fall in love. They both share the same conservative outlooks, which they perceive to be a rarity in the London of the 1960s. The two marry and purchase a large house in a small town within commuting distance of London. The couple intends to have several children—a wish frowned upon by the rest of the family. By the time they have four children–two boys and two girls–their house becomes a centre of joy not only for them but for all their relatives and friends who come and visit. This continues until Harriet has a fifth, wildly dysfunctional child, Ben. Her painful pregnancy with him marks the beginning of the misery and suffering that this child brings to the whole family.The information has been checked against the UK 2007 Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition.

Characters

*Harriet Lovatt. Main female character. Married to David Lovatt *David Lovatt. Main male character. Married to Harriet Lovatt **Luke. Harriet's and David's first child **Helen. Harriet's and David's second child **Jane. Harriet's and David's third child **Paul. Harriet's and David's fourth child **Ben. Harriet's and David's fifth child and the focus of the story *James Lovatt. David's and Deborah's father. He has divorced Molly and married Jessica instead. *Molly. **Deborah Lovatt. David's sister *Dorothy. Harriet's mother *Sarah. Harriet's sister. She is married to William and has children with him, one being Amy, who has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual d ...

. *Angela. Harriet's sister *John. A young man who takes care of Ben. He goes away to Manchester for a job-training offer. *Mary Jones. A girl Ben injures *Dr. Gilly. A specialist that Harriet and Ben see in London *Billy, Derek, Vic, and Elvis. Several boys whose gang Ben joins when he's older

References

Novels by Doris Lessing Jonathan Cape books 1988 British novels 1988 fantasy novels {{UK-book-stub