Elizabeth Day – författare

‘Intelligent, darkly humorous and brilliantly written’ STANLEY TUCCI‘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 ‘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

*** Elizabeth Day’s new novel, One of Us, is a sequel to The Party. Out 25th September 2025, it is available to pre-order now from Amazon. *** 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 ‘As the train pressed on, I realised that my life was in the process of taking a different direction, plotted according to a new constellation. Because, although I didn't know it yet, I was about to meet Ben and nothing would ever be the same again.’ Martin Gilmour is an outsider. When he wins a scholarship to Burtonbury School, he doesn’t wear the right clothes or speak with the right kind of accent. But then he meets the dazzling, popular and wealthy Ben Fitzmaurice, and gains admission to an exclusive world. Soon Martin is enjoying tennis parties and Easter egg hunts at the Fitzmaurice family’s estate, as Ben becomes the brother he never had.But Martin has a secret. He knows something about Ben, something he will never tell. It is a secret that will bind the two of them together for the best part of 25 years.At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the great and the good of British society are gathering to celebrate in a haze of champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the hundreds of guests – the politicians, the celebrities, the old-money and newly rich – Martin once again feels that disturbing pang of not-quite belonging. His wife, Lucy, has her reservations too. There is disquiet in the air. But Ben wouldn’t do anything to damage their friendship.Would he? ‘The twists and turns that the novel takes are never predictable and the novel becomes as unsettling as it is involving. One of those books that a person reads in one day because you absolutely have to know how it turns out’ John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

‘Intelligent, darkly humorous and brilliantly written’ STANLEY TUCCI‘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 ‘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

A stunning, delicate portrait of a family bookended by war, Home Fires explores the legacy of loss, the strictures of class and the long road to redemption.Max Weston, twenty-one, leaves for his first army posting in central Africa. What happens to him changes the lives of his family forever. At home, his parents struggle to cope. The overwhelming love Caroline has always felt for her only child is now matched by the intensity of Max's absence. The silence is broken by the arrival of Caroline's mother-in-law, Elsa, who at the age of ninety-eight can no longer look after herself. After years of living in fear of putting a foot wrong in front of this elegant, cuttingly courteous lady, finally, Caroline has the upper hand.

An audacious, compassionate state-of-the-nation novel about four strangers whose lives collide with far-reaching consequences.Beatrice Kizza, a woman in flight from a homeland that condemned her for daring to love, flees to London. There, she shields her sorrow from the indifference of her adopted city, and navigates a night-time world of shift-work and bedsits.Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire who has risen from Petticoat Lane to the mansions of Kensington on a tide of determination and bluster. Yet self-doubt still snaps at his heels and his life is shadowed by the terrible loss that has shaken him to his foundations.Carol Hetherington, recently widowed, is living the quiet life in Wandsworth with her cat and The Jeremy Kyle Show for company. As she tries to come to terms with the absence her husband has left on the other side of the bed, she frets over her daughter's prospects and wonders if she'll ever be happy again.Esme Reade is a young journalist learning to muck-rake and doorstep in pursuit of the elusive scoop, even as she longs to find some greater meaning and leave her imprint on the world.Four strangers, each inhabitants of the same city, where the gulf between those who have too much and those who will never have enough is impossibly vast. But when the glass that separates Howard's and Beatrice's worlds is shattered by an inexcusable act, they discover that the capital has connected them in ways they could never have imagined.

A frank and beautiful story of damage, survival and restoration from an exhilarating literary voice.As Charles Redfern lies motionless in hospital, his wife Anne and daughter Charlotte are forced to confront their relationships with him – and with each other. Anne, once beautiful and clever, has paled in the shadow of her husband's dominance. Charlotte, meanwhile, is battling with her own inner darkness and is desperate to prevent her relationship with her not-yet-divorced lover from disintegrating.As the full truth of Charles's hold over them is brought to light, both women must reconcile themselves with the choices they have made, the secrets they have kept, and the uncertain future that now lies ahead of them.

*** Elizabeth Day’s new novel, One of Us, is available to pre-order now from Amazon. Out 25th September 2025. *** Inspired by her hugely popular podcast, How To Fail is Elizabeth Day’s brilliantly funny, painfully honest and insightful celebration of things going wrong. 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.

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘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’ 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.

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘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’ 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.

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW WITH AN EXTRA CHAPTER! ‘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.

*** Elizabeth Day’s new novel, One of Us, is available to pre-order now from Amazon. Out 25th September 2025. *** ‘Terrifyingly BRILLIANT’ MARIAN KEYES, AUTHOR OF GROWN UPS‘A book that needed to exist in the world. It is the book that was missing’ LISA TADDEO, AUTHOR OF THREE WOMEN ‘Magnificent’ KATE MOSSE, AUTHOR OF THE CITY OF TEARSWhen 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 MagazineSunday Times bestseller 06/09/2021

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of How to Fail and Magpie ‘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.

‘Intelligent, darkly humorous and brilliantly written’ STANLEY TUCCI‘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

A game-changing guide to being happier, healthier and succeeding better, from Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth Day! A HANDBOOK FOR WHEN THINGS GO WRONG Pretty much all of us would like to feel happier, less anxious, more successful and at ease with ourselves. Right?The key may surprise you: FAILURE!Failosophy For Teens is an inspiring and empowering guide to those moments when life doesn’t go to plan. Using personal experience and stories shared by guests on her award-winning podcast, How to Fail, Elizabeth’s book is full of creative and inspiring advice on how to:- talk openly about failure- turn failure into success- build resilience for when life sends you curveballs- reframe negative thoughts about yourself. . . and much more! Failing better is the key to learning, growing and ultimately loving yourself as the truly AWESOME human being you are. Failosophy For Teens will challenge your self-perception and change your life! ‘An indispensable guide for teenagers everywhere’ Matthew Syed, author of You Are Awesome Perfect for fans of Marcus Rashford’s You Are a Champion and Bryony Gordon’s You Got This.Failosophy (adult edition) is a Sunday Times bestseller and has reached over 150,000 readers.PRAISE FOR FAILOSOPHY (adult edition) ‘A beautiful timely and humane book. If there's one philosophy the world needs more of right now, it's Failosophy’Alain de Botton ‘A pragmatic and pocket-sized guide to failure – how to cope with it and what to learn from it … a must read’ Glamour‘The timing of this guide couldn’t be better . . . Day’s advice is both practical and reassuring.’ Evening Standard'Witty and likeable . . . thoughtful and probing' Guardian