Idol
Louise O’Neill
Transworld, £14.99, pp320
Lifestyle guru Samantha Miller is a cultural phenomenon: with 3 million followers online and books topping the bestseller lists, young women hang on her every word. But when Samantha writes an essay about her sexual awakening, her teenage best friend challenges her version of events, raising questions about sexual consent and the ownership of stories. O’Neill is an incisive chronicler of contemporary social and cultural issues and Idol is a compelling, clever and beautifully crafted thriller.
The Paper Palace
Miranda Cowley Heller
Penguin, £8.99, pp400 (paperback)
Heller’s outstanding debut follows Elle Bishop, on holiday at her family’s lakeside home in Cape Cod, contemplating the status of her marriage after a brief moment of passion with a former lover. As the narrative spins between the present and the past, cataloguing a series of decisive moments in Elle’s life, Heller deftly builds up a portrait of her and the dilemma she faces. In captivating prose and with deep emotional insight, Heller creates a vivid and arresting novel about the complexity and frailty of love and marriage.
Dinner With Joseph Johnson: Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age
Daisy Hay
Vintage, £25, pp528
In the late 18th century, Joseph Johnson was arguably the first modern publisher, working with some of the most famous names of the day: William Blake was his chief engraver. Johnson also enjoyed profound personal relationships with some of his authors, most notably Mary Wollstonecraft and Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. Hay’s meticulously researched biography, rich in period and personal detail, sheds light on both Johnson the man and the vibrant cultural world he inhabited.
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