Eleanor Anstruther – författare

Finalist for the Desmond Elliott PrizeA superb debut* novelbased on the story of the authors grandmotherfollowing an aristocratic woman who abandons her family and her money in search of a life she can claim as her own. (*The Guardian)Enid Campbell, granddaughter of a duke, grew up surrounded by servants, wanting for nothing except love. But when her brother died in the First World War, a new heir was needed, and it was up to Enid to provide it.A troubled marriage and three children soon followed. Broken by postpartum depression, overwhelmed by motherhood and a loveless marriage, Enid made the shocking decision to abandon her family, thereby starting a chain of eventsa kidnap, a court case, and selling her son to her sister for GBP500that reverberated through the generations.Interweaving one significant day in 1964, when it seems the family will reunite for one last time, with a decade during the interwar period, A Perfect Explanation explores the perils of aristocratic privilege, where inheritance is everything and happiness is hard won.

Finalist for the Desmond Elliott PrizeA “superb debut”* novel—based on the story of the author’s grandmother—following an aristocratic woman who abandons her family and her money in search of a life she can claim as her own. (*The Guardian)   Enid Campbell, granddaughter of a duke, grew up surrounded by servants, wanting for nothing except love. But when her brother died in the First World War, a new heir was needed, and it was up to Enid to provide it. A troubled marriage and three children soon followed. Broken by postpartum depression, overwhelmed by motherhood and a loveless marriage, Enid made the shocking decision to abandon her family, thereby starting a chain of events—a kidnap, a court case, and selling her son to her sister for £500—that reverberated through the generations. Interweaving one significant day in 1964, when it seems the family will reunite for one last time, with a decade during the interwar period, A Perfect Explanation explores the perils of aristocratic privilege, where inheritance is everything and happiness is hard won.

Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize 2019Longlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2019Observer: Fiction to look out for in 2019The i Paper’s 30 of the best new debut novels to read in 2019Scottish Review of Books: 2019 in ProspectAs featured on BBC Woman’s Hour, Sky Sunrise and London Live‘Filled with cerebral intensity and scintillating dialogue’ —The Desmond Elliott PrizeExploring themes of ownership and abandonment, Eleanor Anstruther’s bestselling debut is a fictionalised account of the true story of Enid Campbell (1892–1964), granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Argyll. Interweaving one significant day in 1964 with a decade during the interwar period, A Perfect Explanation gets to the heart of what it is to be bound by gender, heritage and tradition, to fight, to lose, to fight again. In a world of privilege, truth remains the same; there are no heroes and villains, only people misunderstood. Here, in the pages of this extraordinary book where the unspoken is conveyed with vivid simplicity, lies a story that will leave you reeling.

The Midhurst Amateur Dramatic Society are putting on a production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, and Tessa has agreed to play a part. But when she suffers a psychotic episode, Ros, a C-list celebrity and new to the community, takes her place. In this darkly comic tale of psychosis in the Home Counties, the stage is set for a blistering examination of mental illness, how we treat it and why we don’t. While Tessa is sectioned in a secure psychiatric hospital, the relationships in the community unravel, and by the time she’s released, all that we thought we knew, and all of our judgements, are thrown into question. Dim the lights, turn off your phones, settle in as the curtain rises…

A radical daughter. A closeted father. A prim mother turned protester. One runaway girl sets a family on fire - and lights the way to liberation. In the bleak winter of 1982, fifteen-year-old Bridget has had enough. Enough of Thatcher's Britain, enough of being invisible, and enough of her family's secrets. Armed with little more than a sharp tongue and a fierce sense of justice, she runs away from her suburban life to join the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp - one of the most iconic protest movements in British history. But Bridget's disappearance doesn't just blow open her own life. It sends shockwaves through her fractured family: her distant, conservative mother, who's about to fall headlong into a love affair she never saw coming, and her father - a man with secrets of his own, who's spent a lifetime hiding in plain sight. Set at the unlikely intersection of nuclear disarmament and personal awakening, FALLOUT is a fearless, darkly funny exploration of identity, family, and midlife reinvention. With an irreverent bite that evokes Fleabag, the emotional complexity of Bad Sisters, and the political urgency of Milkman, Eleanor Anstruther has written a novel that is 'gutsy, urgent, and heartfelt' (Emma Forrest), full of 'wit, fire, and serious truths' (Joanna Pocock). As the three members of this quietly explosive family collide on the protest lines - armed with placards, secrets, and unlikely hope - they're forced to confront what they've been hiding from each other, and from themselves. Perfect for readers of Meg Mason, Ali Smith, and Nina Stibbe, FALLOUT is a luminous, unforgettable novel about the lies we tell to survive - and the courage it takes to finally come undone.