‘This is Elizabeth Day's writing at its finest’ DOLLY ALDERTON

‘A tantalising portrait of privilege and power’ THE TIMES

In this compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals, one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power.

Martin and Ben were friends for decades – best friends, Martin would have said – before the terrible events at Ben’s 40th birthday party tore them apart. So when Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of the dazzling Fitzmaurice family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge. Ben might be touted as the next Prime Minister, but it’s Martin who knows where the bodies are buried …

With everyone watching, the stage is set for a reckoning. It's time for Martin and Ben to confront what love truly means when everything – family, power and loyalty – is on the line.

‘Speaks truth to power in such an entertaining, gripping way’ MARIAN KEYES

‘This timely story about the abuse of power is one of those books you just want to inhale in one go’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘Gorgeously written, utterly compelling, and full of characters you will love and hate – and also love to hate’ SARA COLLINS

‘The thinking person’s thriller. Part Highsmith, part Waugh … A superbly gripping plot’ LUCY FOLEY

‘This is Elizabeth Day’s writing at its finest’ DOLLY ALDERTON

‘A tantalising portrait of privilege and power’ THE TIMES

In this compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals, one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power.

Martin and Ben were friends for decades – best friends, Martin would have said – before the terrible events at Ben’s 40th birthday party tore them apart. So when Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of the dazzling Fitzmaurice family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge.

Ben has risen through the ranks of power, and is now touted as the next Prime Minister. But Martin can’t help but notice certain flies in the ointment? Ben’s wife, Serena, for instance, whose privileged existence is beginning to feel like a gilded cage. Or their daughter, Cosima, an environmental activist fighting against everything her parents once stood for. Or the disgraced MP Richard Take, determined to make his big comeback. And then there’s Fliss, the Fitzmaurice black sheep, whose untimely death sparks more suspicion than closure. Through their intertwined stories, we see a family – and a nation – unravelling under the weight of its secrets.

With everyone watching, the stage is set for a reckoning. It’s time for Martin and Ben to confront what love truly means when everything-family, power, and loyalty-is on the line.

‘Speaks truth to power in such an entertaining, gripping way’ MARIAN KEYES

‘Clever and superbly crafted’ KATE MOSSE

‘Gorgeously written, utterly compelling, and full of characters you will love and hate – and also love to hate’ SARA COLLINS

‘The thinking person’s thriller. Part Highsmith, part Waugh ? A superbly gripping plot’ LUCY FOLEY

‘Essential reading’ Guardian

‘A joyful read’ Sunday Times

‘Disarmingly honest’ Daily Mirror

‘Bravely revealing’ Bernardine Evaristo

‘Filled with relatable insights’ Daily Mail

‘Funny, moving, helpful and true’ Sathnam Sanghera

‘A generous guide to a part of life every bit as crucial as romance’ Observer

?As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren’t they just as – if not more – important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us?

In this fascinating, insightful and uniquely moving book, Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to find out. Friendaholic unpacks the significance and evolution of friendship from the ancient wisdom of Cicero to the modern curse of ghosting. How and why do we make friends? Is friendship an antidote to loneliness? How should we deal with a frenemy? And is it ok to end a friendship that has gone awry?

Friendaholic examines what makes a ‘good’ friend and asks us what kind of friend we want to be – to each other but also to ourselves.

‘Bravely revealing.’ Bernardine Evaristo

‘Funny, moving, helpful and true, Friendaholic deserves a massive audience.’ Sathnam Sanghera

‘This book is brilliant.’ Jo Elvin

‘Essential reading? admirably candid and well-crafted’ The Guardian

As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren’t they just as – if not more – important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us? In Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to answer these questions.

Growing up, Elizabeth wanted to make everyone like her. Lacking friends at school, she grew up to believe that quantity equalled quality. Having lots of friends meant you were loved, popular and safe. She was determined to become a Good Friend. And, in many ways, she did. But in adulthood she slowly realised that it was often to the detriment of her own boundaries and mental health.

Then, when a global pandemic hit in 2020, she was one of many who were forced to reassess what friendship really meant to them – with the crisis came a dawning realisation: her truest friends were not always the ones she had been spending most time with. Why was this? Could she rebalance it? Was there such thing as?too many friends? And was she really the friend she thought she was?

Friendaholic unpacks the significance and evolution of friendship. From exploring her own personal friendships and the distinct importance of each of them in her life, to the unique and powerful insights of others across the globe, Elizabeth asks why there isn’t yet a language that can express its crucial influence on our world.

From ghosting and frenemies to social media and seismic life events, Elizabeth leaves no stone unturned. Friendaholic is the book you buy for the people you love but it’s also the book you read to become a better friend to yourself.

‘I didn’t want it to end’
Lisa Taddeo, author of  Three Women and  Animal

‘Magnificent: I read it in one sitting’
Kate Mosse, author of The  City of Tears

When Marisa meets Jake, everything falls into place. But then their new lodger Kate arrives.

Something isn’t right about her. It’s the way she looks at Jake, keeps her toothbrush right next to theirs and constantly asks questions about the baby they are trying for. Or maybe it’s all in Marisa’s head. That’s what Jake thinks. And she trusts him, doesn’t she?

But Marisa knows something is wrong, and she is determined to find out why, even if it costs her everything.

‘A very elegant, tense, literary thriller‘
Sarah Vaughan, author of Anatomy of a Scandal

‘Utterly engrossing, a thick sense of dread unfurling from every page’
Refinery29

‘I literally couldn’t put this down‘
Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton

‘A compelling, twisting read’
Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

‘Sharp, twisty ? Impossible to put down’
Daily Mail

‘A pulse-quickening tale‘
Stylist

‘Sharp and sinister’
Mail on Sunday

‘A pacy, stylish thriller’
Observer

‘Scintillating’
The Sunday Times, Thriller of the Month

‘A compassionately crafted psychological drama’
Harper’s Bazaar

‘I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough’
Prima Magazine

‘Be prepared for a sleight-of-hand-twist that will leave you gasping‘
Red Magazine

Sunday Times bestseller 06/09/2021

‘Elizabeth Day has revolutionised the way we see failure’ Stylist

‘A beautiful timely and humane book’ Alain de Botton

‘Most failures can teach us  something meaningful about ourselves if we choose to listen’

In Failosophy Elizabeth Day brings together all the lessons she has learned, from conversations with the guests on her award-winning How to Fail podcast, from stories shared with her by readers and listeners, and from her own life, and distils them into seven principles of failure.
 
Practical, reassuring and inspirational, these principles offer a guide through life’s rough patches. From failed exams to romantic break-ups, from career setbacks to confidence crises, from navigating anxiety to surviving loss, Failosophy recognises, and celebrates, the fact that failure connects us all. It is what makes us human.
 
With insights from Malcolm Gladwell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lemn Sissay, Frankie Bridge, Nigel Slater, Emeli Sande, Alain de Botton, Mabel, Fearne Cotton, Meera Syal, Dame Kelly Holmes, Andrew Scott and many, many more, Failosophy is the essential handbook for turning failure into success.

‘A book that needed to exist in the world. It is the book that was missing’
LISA TADDEO, AUTHOR OF THREE WOMEN AND ANIMAL

‘Magnificent: I read it one sitting’
KATE MOSSE, AUTHOR OF THE CITY OF TEARS

Sometimes Marisa gets the fanciful notion that Kate has visited the house before. She makes herself at home without any self-consciousness. She puts her toothbrush right there in the master bathroom, on the shelf next to theirs.

In Jake, Marisa has found everything she’s ever wanted. Then their new lodger Kate arrives.
 
Something about Kate isn’t right. Is it the way she looks at Marisa’s boyfriend? Sits too close on the sofa? Constantly asks about the baby they are trying for? Or is it all just in Marisa’s head?
 
After all, that’s what her Jake keeps telling her. And she trusts him – doesn’t she?
 
But Marisa knows something is wrong. That the woman sleeping in their house will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
 
Marisa just doesn’t know why.
   
How far will she go to find the answer – and how much is she willing to lose?

‘A pacy, stylish thriller in which suspense is accompanied by fist-pumping feminism and, perhaps toughest of all, hope.’
THE OBSERVER

‘Pulse-quickening-tale’
STYLIST

‘Scintillating’
THE SUNDAY TIMES, THRILLER OF THE MONTH

‘A compassionately crafted psychological drama’
HARPERS BAZAAR

‘I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough’
PRIMA MAGAZINE

‘A genius twist that left me reeling’
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘Be prepared for a sleight-of-hand-twist that will leave you gasping’
RED MAGAZINE

‘Utterly engrossing’
REFINERY 29

‘Sharp and sinister’
MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Impossible to put down’
DAILY MAIL

‘A rich plot that also delves into meaty topics’
GRAZIA

Sunday Times bestseller 06/09/2021

This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it’s a book for everyone.

If I have learned one thing from this shockingly beautiful venture called life, it is this: failure has taught me lessons I would never otherwise have understood. I have evolved more as a result of things going wrong than when everything seemed to be going right. Out of crisis has come clarity, and sometimes even catharsis.

Part memoir, part manifesto, and including chapters on dating, work, sport, babies, families, anger and friendship, it is based on the simple premise that understanding why we fail ultimately makes us stronger. It’s a book about learning from our mistakes and about not being afraid.

Uplifting, inspiring and rich in stories from Elizabeth’s own life, How to Fail reveals that failure is not what defines us; rather it is how we respond to it that shapes us as individuals.

Because learning how to fail is actually learning how to succeed better. And everyone needs a bit of that.

AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR

A gripping story of betrayal, privilege and hypocrisy, set in the unassailable heart of the British establishment.

‘A terrifying, hilarious, brilliantly written original with a wit to die for’ Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Martin Gilmour and Ben Fitzmaurice have been best friends for 25 years, since their days together at Burtonbury School.

They are an unlikely pair: the scholarship boy with the wrong accent and clothes, and the dazzlingly popular, wealthy young aristocrat. But Martin knows no one else can understand the bond they share – and no one else could have kept Ben’s secret for over two decades.

At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the cream of the British establishment gathers in a haze of champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the politicians, the celebrities, the old money and the newly rich, Martin once again feels that pang of not quite belonging. His wife Lucy has her reservations, too. There is something unnerving in the air. But Ben wouldn’t do anything to damage their friendship. Would he?