The Dinner Party

Franca left the Netherlands to start a new life in England with Andrew. His parents lived in South Kensington, but he had a flat their son could “borrow” nearby. He is an old-fashioned British gentleman who encourages her not to work and instead focus on her writing, and he suggests a dinner party with his colleagues to celebrate a big upcoming launch.

Franca must plan, shop, cook and clean for the dinner party. It takes place during a heatwave when the fridge breaks, alcohol replaces water, and an unexpected guest joins their ranks, upending the careful balance between who Franca once was and who she is now…

Expertly weaving the past and present with precision and delicious tension, The Dinner Party is a thoughtful, thought-provoking look at female rage, body autonomy, and the many concessions women make throughout their lives—big and small—until the surprising moment when they decide they will no longer make them.

For fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein and Assembly, an intimate and darkly propulsive story told over the course of a dinner party, from its careful preparation through its explosive, irrevocable finish, about the tensions of love and autonomy, grief and female rage, and the surprising moments when they come crashing to the surface.