Alexander Starritt’s debut novel The Beast was a 2017 Spectator book of the year; his second novel, We Germans, was published in 2020 and translated into six languages. It won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in the United States, and was nominated for the Prix Femina, Prix Médicis and Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in France. Drayton and Mackenzie is his third. Starritt was born and brought up in Scotland, and now lives in London.

'Even if tidal energy start-ups and management consultants don’t get your heart racing, don’t be put off by this chunky book: it’s one of the finest state-of-the-nation novels of the past decade. It begins in Oxford in 2004 as our two protagonists, studious James and charming Roland, first see their promise solidify into a future. They join McKinsey, then leave to set up their own business. But beyond their friendship the world is changing: banks are failing, people are losing their homes and careers. Can they find happiness in the midst of it all? This is Dickens meets The Big Short, a vibrant novel about love, friendship, money, ambition and the 21st century' Sunday Times Best Summer Books 2026

Alexander Starritt’s debut novel The Beast was a 2017 Spectator book of the year; his second novel, We Germans, was published in 2020 and translated into six languages. It won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in the United States, and was nominated for the Prix Femina, Prix Médicis and Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in France. Drayton and Mackenzie is his third. Starritt was born and brought up in Scotland, and now lives in London.

'Even if tidal energy start-ups and management consultants don’t get your heart racing, don’t be put off by this chunky book: it’s one of the finest state-of-the-nation novels of the past decade. It begins in Oxford in 2004 as our two protagonists, studious James and charming Roland, first see their promise solidify into a future. They join McKinsey, then leave to set up their own business. But beyond their friendship the world is changing: banks are failing, people are losing their homes and careers. Can they find happiness in the midst of it all? This is Dickens meets The Big Short, a vibrant novel about love, friendship, money, ambition and the 21st century' Sunday Times Best Summer Books 2026