The Safekeep

Yael van der Wouden


Publish Date   15 May, 2025
RRP   $22.99

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024- An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes, and the unexpected shape of revenge

It is fifteen years after the Second World War, and Isabel has built herself a solitary life of discipline and strict routine in her late mother's country home, with not a fork or a word out of place. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel's doorstep - as a guest, there to stay for the season...

In the sweltering heat of summer, Isabel's desperate need for control reaches boiling point. What happens between the two women leads to a revelation which threatens to unravel all she has ever known...

Yael van der Wouden was born in 1987 and lives and works in The Netherlands. The Safekeep, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024. It was also longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Wingate Prize, and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. She lectures in creative writing and comparative literature.

ISBN   9780241999776
Pages   272
Publisher   Penguin UK
Format   Paperback
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