Almost English : the heart-breaking Man Booker-longlisted novel from the author of The Exhibitionist

�_~The multi award-winning Charlotte Mendelson is famous for whipping up the hottest, messiest family dramas a writer of literary fiction can . . . This is late Shakespeare meets Modern Family and it�_Ts irresistible�_T �_" The TimesIn a tiny flat in West London, sixteen-year-old Marina lives with her emotionally delicate mother and three ancient Hungarian relatives. Imprisoned by her family�_Ts crushing expectations and their traditions, she knows she must escape. At Combe Abbey, a traditional English private boarding school in the Dorset countryside, Marina realizes she�_Ts made a terrible mistake. Here, among the boathouses, chapel services and unspoken social hierarchy, she is the awkward half-foreign girl who doesn�_Tt know how to fit in, flirt, or even exist. Meanwhile, her mother has her own painful secrets to deal with �_" especially the surprising return of the very last man she�_Td expect to see. And Marina�_Ts disastrous spiral at Combe Abbey is going unnoticed . . . �_~A deliciously funny tale of dysfunctional families. . . Reading Mendelson�_Ts easy, assured prose is like sinking into something soft and velvety�_T �_" Telegraph�_~I read and adored Almost English . . . and now I will read everything she�_Ts ever written. Charlotte Mendelson is a fiendishly gifted writer�_T �_" Marian Keyes