After the Funeral

Sunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection ‘Tessa Hadley is my favourite author’ KATE ATKINSON Heloise’s father died in a car crash when she was a little girl; at a dinner party in her forties, she meets someone connected to that long-ago tragedy. Janey’s bohemian mother plans to marry a man close to Janey's own age – everything changes when an accident interrupts the wedding party. A daughter caring for her elderly mother during the pandemic becomes obsessed with the woman next door; in the wake of his best friend’s death, a man must reassess his affair with the friend’s wife. Teenager Cecilia wakes one morning on holiday with her parents in Florence and sees them for the first time through disenchanted eyes. These twelve stories plumb the depths of everyday life to reveal the shifting tides and hidden undercurrents of ordinary relationships. ‘Few writers give me such consistent pleasure’ ZADIE SMITH ‘Hadley is fantastically inventive . . . A magnificent collection’ Daily Telegraph ‘Wonderful . . . The quality of suspense and satisfaction in Hadley’s stories is miraculous’ Vogue , Books of the Year

Time to bury the hatchet… In a dead man’s sister There are certain things that are best left unsaid. Though tragedy had touched the life of the wealthy Richard Abernethie, his sudden death seemed pretty unremarkable for a man of his age. So why would his sister wait until his funeral to say he had been murdered? When she is savagely killed with a hatchet the next day, her extraordinary remark suddenly takes on a chilling significance. In desperation, the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery . . .

Sunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection ‘Tessa Hadley is my favourite author’ KATE ATKINSON Heloise’s father died in a car crash when she was a little girl; at a dinner party in her forties, she meets someone connected to that long-ago tragedy. Janey’s bohemian mother plans to marry a man close to Janey's own age – everything changes when an accident interrupts the wedding party. A daughter caring for her elderly mother during the pandemic becomes obsessed with the woman next door; in the wake of his best friend’s death, a man must reassess his affair with the friend’s wife. Teenager Cecilia wakes one morning on holiday with her parents in Florence and sees them for the first time through disenchanted eyes. These twelve stories plumb the depths of everyday life to reveal the shifting tides and hidden undercurrents of ordinary relationships. ‘Few writers give me such consistent pleasure’ ZADIE SMITH ‘Hadley is fantastically inventive . . . A magnificent collection’ Daily Telegraph ‘Wonderful . . . The quality of suspense and satisfaction in Hadley’s stories is miraculous’ Vogue , Books of the Year

Time to bury the hatchet… In a dead man’s sister There are certain things that are best left unsaid. Though tragedy had touched the life of the wealthy Richard Abernethie, his sudden death seemed pretty unremarkable for a man of his age. So why would his sister wait until his funeral to say he had been murdered? When she is savagely killed with a hatchet the next day, her extraordinary remark suddenly takes on a chilling significance. In desperation, the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery . . .

Sunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection 'You've either got it or you haven't. Hadley's got it' FINANCIAL TIMES Heloise's father died in a car crash when she was a little girl; at a dinner party in her forties, she meets someone connected to that long-ago tragedy. Janey's bohemian mother plans to marry a man close to Janey's own age - everything changes when an accident interrupts the wedding party. A daughter caring for her elderly mother during the pandemic becomes obsessed with the woman next door; in the wake of his best friend's death, a man must reassess his affair with the friend's wife. Teenager Cecilia wakes one morning on holiday with her parents in Florence and sees them for the first time through disenchanted eyes. These stories illuminate the enduring conflicts between responsibility and freedom, power and desire, convention and subversion, reality, and dreams. ***A GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023*** ***ONE OF THE BBC’S '25 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023'***

Sunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection 'You've either got it or you haven't. Hadley's got it' FINANCIAL TIMES Heloise's father died in a car crash when she was a little girl; at a dinner party in her forties, she meets someone connected to that long-ago tragedy. Janey's bohemian mother plans to marry a man close to Janey's own age - everything changes when an accident interrupts the wedding party. A daughter caring for her elderly mother during the pandemic becomes obsessed with the woman next door; in the wake of his best friend's death, a man must reassess his affair with the friend's wife. Teenager Cecilia wakes one morning on holiday with her parents in Florence and sees them for the first time through disenchanted eyes. These stories illuminate the enduring conflicts between responsibility and freedom, power and desire, convention and subversion, reality, and dreams. ***A GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023*** ***ONE OF THE BBC’S '25 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023'***