AN IRISH TIMES DEBUT AUTHOR TO LOOK OUT FOR 2025

'Beautifully written' LOUISE KENNEDY
'Full of verve and wit and humanity' MARY COSTELLO
'Clever and original' TLS
'A tremendous new talent' KEVIN BARRY

Mairéad works tirelessly in a run-down West End theatre's wardrobe department - mending shoes, fixing broken zips and even handwashing underwear. She must also sidestep groping hands backstage and withstand the relentless bullying of the show's producer.

The job was meant to be the first step towards the life Mairéad has always wanted, and yet half of her remains back home in Ireland, along with everything she abandoned there.

A reckoning with the past is coming and, with it, the need to forge a new present - one stitch at a time.

"Clever and original" - * Times Literary Supplement *

"Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she's known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty" - * Irish Independent *

"Whether she's detailing the drama of an Irish funeral or the panic of a backstage emergency, Garvey's control of tone and voice is faultless" - * Financial Times *

"Very well done . . . Elaine Garvey . . . is especially good at dialogue, with a witty, often biting turn of phrase" - * Irish Examiner *