What is the worst thing that could ever happen to a journalist? So begins the twisty, compelling and deliciously seductive Bring The House Down,
’s debut novel and, officially, the most fun book has read in years. Which is why she insisted that Char sit down and put up with her enthusiastic grilling of her about her sensational novel.This week marks the long-awaited publication of Bring The House Down, a modern revenge novel set at the Edinburgh Fringe, in which a morally dubious critic damns a one-woman show - only to have a one-night-stand with its creator hours afterwards.
In response, scorned woman Hayley transforms her performance into a one-star review of his life, dredging up every bad thing Alex has ever done. The result is a novel that cleverly interrogates criticism, cancel culture and online discourse, while offering up some brilliant gags in the process.
Today we celebrate Bring The House Down and Charlotte, and talk about her process behind the book - as well as the reality of writing it in six weeks after abandoning two other works in progress.
You’d be very well-advised to buy your copy of Bring The House Down here.
And a reminder: we’ve now set up an In Haste bookshop.org page - this is where you can buy all of the titles featured in the show. We’ll benefit from a tiny bit of kickback, which helps keeps the podcast in production. And if you love In Haste, we rely on substack subscriptions to exist. We’d love it if you were able to upgrade yours today.
catch up
Spicy dragons with Maddy Belton
Publishing, like every other aspect of life, is not immune from the trends cycle. In fact, it’s probably far more susceptible to what’s in vogue or not than it would like to admit.
Hark: How Women Listen, with Alice Vincent
What could it mean to listen more deeply? Alice’s extraordinary new book, Hark: How Women Listen, is published this week, and in today’s episode of In Haste, Charlotte couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask her all about how it came into being.
Writing motherhood with Helen Jukes
How is being a writer like being a mother? Writing a book and having a baby can be oddly similar experiences: both take a long time and are not exactly pain-free. Alice and Charlotte have even done both at once, and in today’s episode we talk about what it’s like to bring a book
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