Overview

""A punk-hearted coming-of-age novel of rebellion, love, and reinvention."" From the Author of A Perfect Explanation, one of The Times' Best Books of the Year A radical daughter. A closeted father. A prim mother turned protester. One runaway girl sets a family on fire—and lights the way to liberation. In the bleak winter of 1982, fifteen-year-old Bridget has had enough. Enough of Thatcher’s Britain, enough of being invisible, and enough of her family’s secrets. Armed with little more than a sharp tongue and a fierce sense of justice, she runs away from her suburban life to join the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp—one of the most iconic protest movements in British history. But Bridget’s disappearance doesn’t just blow open her own life. It sends shockwaves through her fractured family: her distant, conservative mother, who’s about to fall headlong into a love affair she never saw coming, and her father—a man with secrets of his own, who’s spent a lifetime hiding in plain sight. Set at the unlikely intersection of nuclear disarmament and personal awakening, FALLOUT is a fearless, darkly funny exploration of identity, family, and midlife reinvention. With an irreverent bite that evokes Fleabag, the emotional complexity of Bad Sisters, and the political urgency of Milkman, Eleanor Anstruther has written a novel that is “gutsy, urgent, and heartfelt” (Emma Forrest), full of “wit, fire, and serious truths” (Joanna Pocock). As the three members of this quietly explosive family collide on the protest lines—armed with placards, secrets, and unlikely hope—they’re forced to confront what they’ve been hiding from each other, and from themselves. Perfect for readers of Meg Mason, Ali Smith, and Nina Stibbe, FALLOUT is a luminous, unforgettable novel about the lies we tell to survive—and the courage it takes to finally come undone.

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9798999527035

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Reviews

""...Fizzing with detail, energy, and purpose.""--Viv Groskop, Acclaimed author of How to Own the Room. ""Astute, funny, and informed by a wealth of human experience...""--Patrick Gale --Patrick Gale ""A quiet but powerful stand against tyranny.""--Publishers Weekly --Publishers Weekly

""A quiet but powerful stand against tyranny.""--Publishers Weekly --Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Eleanor Anstruther is a distinctive voice in contemporary literature who writes with intelligence, dry wit, and emotional precision. Born in London, she was educated at Westminster School before taking up the study of History of Art at Manchester University--only to be delightfully waylaid by a life-altering trip to India. She spent the next twelve years tracing her own path: building a commune, erecting a stone circle, and wandering across Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas--before finally anchoring herself in the life she was meant to write. Her debut novel, A Perfect Explanation (Salt Books), received notable acclaim, spending time on the longlists for both the Desmond Elliott Prize and the 2019 Not the Booker Prize. Since then, Eleanor has built a fervent following via The Literary Obsessive on Substack, where she serializes novels ahead of print, champions independent literary voices, and hosts the popular ""8 Questions"" interview series. Now a literary trailblazer, Eleanor lives on a tranquil farm in Surrey with her twin boys, continuing to write novels that shimmer with wit, empathy, and a clear-eyed view of life's bewildering contradictions.

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