Mrs S: The thrilling debut novel of the summer from the Granta Best Young British Novelist Luisterboek Tooltip Luisterboeken beluister je met de bol.com Kobo app.

An Observer Best Debut of the Year

A Granta Best Young British Novelist

‘I loved this book’ JULIA ARMFIELD

‘Exhilarating’ MONICA HEISEY

'Astonishing' ANDREA LAWLOR

'Should be on everyone's summer reading list' iNEWS

A powerful, sensual novel of the forbidden love between a young woman and the headmaster’s wife, unfolding across a single a heatwave summer.

In an elite English boarding school where the girls kiss the marble statue of the famous dead author who used to walk the halls, a young Australian woman arrives to take up the antiquated role of ‘matron’. There she meets Mrs S, the headmaster’s wife, a woman who is her polar opposite: assured, sophisticated, a paragon of femininity.

Over the course of a long, restless heatwave, the matron finds herself irresistibly drawn ever closer into the older woman’s world with their unspoken desire blooming into an illicit affair of electric intensity. But, as the summer begins to fade, both know that a choice must finally be made.

‘Atmospheric and daring’ GUARDIAN

‘There’s nothing else like it out there’ THE TIMES

‘Desire crackles through these pages like fire’ TELEGRAPH

‘Entirely captivating’ NEW YORK TIMES

‘Moody, generous and brilliant’ JESSIE BURTON

'Rare and thrilling' SARAH WINMAN

In this latest work of fiction, K Patrick explores the psychological depths of forbidden romance, painting a vivid picture of lesbian love in an elite English boarding school. The narrative is new, fresh, and unapologetically feminist, challenging societal norms and expectations.

For fans of Martin Macinnes (In Ascension), Georgi Gospodinov (Time Shelter), Gabrielle Zevin (Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow), Ottessa Moshfegh (Lapvona), and Nicola Dinan (Bellies).

HarperCollins 2023