Teddy Wayne – författare

A razor-sharp novel that skewers the life of the uber-rich in the vein of The White Lotus, with shades of The Talented Mr Ripley and The Graduate

'A gripping, provocative, and delightfully shocking novel' Nathan Hill

Conor is a recent graduate from a law school no one has heard of. Without any job prospects and needing to support his chronically ill mother, he takes a summer job teaching tennis at the affluent gated community of Cutters Neck, Massachusetts. One of his first students is Catherine, a magnetic divorcee keen to hire him for more than advice on her serve. What begins as a transactional arrangement soon develops into an intoxicating sexual relationship.

Things become even more complicated when Conor encounters Emily, with whom he has his first taste of real intimacy. Against his better judgment, he soon finds himself living a double life that inevitably leads to disaster.

Conor knows how hard it is to win against those with money and power. In his fight for survival, he has to put emotion aside and play with only his wits - after all, in tennis, love means nothing

'A lean, careening thrill … one of my favourite books of the year' Megan Nolan‘Riveting reading' The Times'Irresistible … A page-turning story of sex, power, and money' Vogue, Best Books of 2024 So Far A razor-sharp novel that skewers the life of the uber-rich in the vein of The White Lotus, with shades of The Talented Mr Ripley and The Graduate Conor comes from nothing, but he knows how to win.Tennis has taught him how to be relentless. How to work hard and stay patient, even when your opponent has every advantage.Tennis is what takes Conor to a gated community for the summer, where he can give overpriced lessons to the super-rich. It brings him to Catherine, a bored but intoxicating divorcee twice his age. And to Emily, a girl he might actually love.As the summer heats up, Conor finds himself not just playing a game, but fighting for survival. Will he put his emotions aside for a greater prize? After all, in tennis, love means nothing. TOP OF THE LIST ON THE NEW YORK TIMES' BEST THRILLERS OF 2024 ‘Wayne’s plot was made to gallop, and it does not disappoint’ New York Times'Terrific' Wall Street Journal'Well-paced, smart … A savvy take on sex, money and power … A movie-ready page turner' Washington Post WHAT READERS ARE SAYING… 'Wow, talk about a can’t-put-down book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Aced it! An absolute page turner!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I had hard time going to sleep at night because I was so engaged and couldn’t stop reading' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Where in the world have I been that I have never discovered this writer before??' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Named a ‘Most-Anticipated Book’ by The New York Times and LitHub Steven Hammer was once a literary star. Now, his career is floundering, his marriage to high-powered banker Lucy is crumbling, and the only bright spot in his life is Astrid, the Norwegian au pair who cares for their children – and reveres his neglected novels. But what begins as a secret infatuation soon spirals into a scandal that makes them both infamous.As a headline-grabbing trial captivates the world with a salacious story of sex, power, and betrayal, Steven must confront the wreckage he’s created – and the deeper insecurities that fuelled it. Is Astrid an innocent young woman caught up in a case beyond her control, or a calculating femme fatale? And how far will he go, driven by desperation and obsession, for her professed love?With propulsive momentum, sharp wit and sly, lucid prose, The Au Pair is a sleek literary thriller about failure, desire, and the unravelling of a man as he grapples with his fading relevance – when the lies others spin pale beside the fictions we tell ourselves.* * * * Praise for The Au Pair: ‘The Au Pair is Teddy Wayne at his immensely readable best. The plot ratchets up in the creepiest, most chilling way while deliciously skewering the Brooklyn literary set. It’s a book you’ll tear through, one that leaves you guessing until the last page’ Maria Semple, author of Go Gentle‘You may think you know where it’s going, this novel about a disappointed writer, his frosty wife, and a comely young nanny. You may be in for a surprise. Propulsive but also insightful – and funny, in its merciless skewering of midlife, marriage, and more – The Au Pair cements Teddy Wayne’s status as a master of the wicked little literary thriller’ Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind ‘An ingenious dissection of marriage, masculinity, and privilege, propelled by a gimlet-eyed wit… A sly, unsettling hybrid of social satire and domestic thriller’ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)‘A sharp domestic thriller… An intricate look at the perils of seeking admiration. Readers will be hard-pressed to put this down’ Publishers Weekly‘Teddy Wayne has written a book about selling out that doesn’t—a guilty pleasure that earns its guilt. The Au Pair is a canny seduction wrapped in a page-turning thriller wrapped in an elegy for the literary novel: a threefold delight’ Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Homeland Elegies and The Radiance

Named a ‘Most-Anticipated Book’ by The New York Times and LitHub Steven Hammer was once a literary star. Now, his career is floundering, his marriage to high-powered banker Lucy is crumbling, and the only bright spot in his life is Astrid, the Norwegian au pair who cares for their children – and reveres his neglected novels. But what begins as a secret infatuation soon spirals into a scandal that makes them both infamous.As a headline-grabbing trial captivates the world with a salacious story of sex, power, and betrayal, Steven must confront the wreckage he’s created – and the deeper insecurities that fuelled it. Is Astrid an innocent young woman caught up in a case beyond her control, or a calculating femme fatale? And how far will he go, driven by desperation and obsession, for her professed love?With propulsive momentum, sharp wit and sly, lucid prose, The Au Pair is a sleek literary thriller about failure, desire, and the unravelling of a man as he grapples with his fading relevance – when the lies others spin pale beside the fictions we tell ourselves.* * * * Praise for The Au Pair: ‘The Au Pair is Teddy Wayne at his immensely readable best. The plot ratchets up in the creepiest, most chilling way while deliciously skewering the Brooklyn literary set. It’s a book you’ll tear through, one that leaves you guessing until the last page’ Maria Semple, author of Go Gentle‘You may think you know where it’s going, this novel about a disappointed writer, his frosty wife, and a comely young nanny. You may be in for a surprise. Propulsive but also insightful – and funny, in its merciless skewering of midlife, marriage, and more – The Au Pair cements Teddy Wayne’s status as a master of the wicked little literary thriller’ Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind ‘An ingenious dissection of marriage, masculinity, and privilege, propelled by a gimlet-eyed wit… A sly, unsettling hybrid of social satire and domestic thriller’ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)‘A sharp domestic thriller… An intricate look at the perils of seeking admiration. Readers will be hard-pressed to put this down’ Publishers Weekly‘Teddy Wayne has written a book about selling out that doesn’t—a guilty pleasure that earns its guilt. The Au Pair is a canny seduction wrapped in a page-turning thriller wrapped in an elegy for the literary novel: a threefold delight’ Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Homeland Elegies and The Radiance

The critically acclaimed and highly anticipated novel from award-winning writer Teddy Wayne is an unsettling work that is powerful and complex.