GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS From the Booker Prize-nominated author of The Water Cure comes a chilling new feminist fable based on the true story of an unsolved mystery . . . 'A shimmering fever-dream of a novel' Telegraph 'A dreamy sapphic romp' The Times 'Gauzy [and] gripping, a quietly rich maturation of Mackintosh's skill' Guardian Audacious and mesmerising, Cursed Bread is a darkly erotic tale of a town gripped by madness, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes. Elodie is the baker's wife: plain, unremarkable and unappreciated, she is desperate to escape her dull, small-town life. One day a charismatic new couple appear in the neighbourhood and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, eavesdropping on their conversations, longing to possess them. Meanwhile, beneath the tranquil surface of daily life, strange things are happening. The animals expire in the fields for no reason. Ghosts are sighted after dark. A dark intoxication is spreading through the town, and when Elodie finally understands her role in it, it will be too late to stop.

Discover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world. Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus? Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. The woman who will never know men. WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE

From the Booker Prize-nominated author of The Water Cure comes a chilling new feminist fable based on the true story of an unsolved mystery... A Good Housekeeping recommended read for 2023 'Sensual, luminous, transcendent. It confirms Mackintosh as one of our finest young writers' The Bookseller 'A thrilling and subversive fable' i-D If you eat the bread, you'll die, he said. The statement made no sense, but it filled me with an electric dread. Elodie is the baker's wife. A plain, unremarkable woman, ignored by her husband and underestimated by her neighbours, she burns with the secret desire to be extraordinary. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, eavesdropping on their coded conversations, longing to be part of their world. Meanwhile, beneath the tranquil surface of daily life, strange things are happening. Six horses are found dead in a sun-drenched field, laid out neatly on the ground like an offering. Widows see their lost husbands walking up the moonlit river, coming back to claim them. A teenage boy throws himself into the bonfire at the midsummer feast. A dark intoxication is spreading through the town, and when Elodie finally understands her role in it, it will be too late to stop. Audacious and mesmerising, Cursed Bread is a fevered confession, an entry into memory's hall of mirrors, a fable of obsession and transformation. Sophie Mackintosh spins a darkly gleaming tale of a town gripped by hysteria, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes. Praise for Sophie Mackintosh: 'Be sure to read everything Sophie Mackintosh writes' Deborah Levy on Blue Ticket 'An extraordinary debut - otherworldly, luminous, precise' Guardian on The Water Cure 'Dreamlike, tense, compelling, with a pitch-perfect ending' The New York Times on Blue Ticket 'An unsettling dark fantasy... It lingers long after the final page' Daily Telegraph on The Water Cure 'Blue Ticket will worm its way under your skin and haunt your dreams' Red

'A joyous collection of essays celebrating the sanctuary of the women's pond on Hampstead Heath.' - New Statesman

Tucked away along a shady path towards the north-east edge of Hampstead Heath is a sign: Women Only. This is the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond.

Floating in the Pond's silky waters, hidden by a canopy of trees, it's easy to forget that you are in the middle of London. On a hot day, thousands of swimmers from eight to eighty-plus can be found waiting to take a dip before sunbathing in the adjoining meadow. As summer turns to autumn and then winter, the Pond is still visited by a large number of hardy regulars in high-vis hats, many of whom have been swimming here for decades.

In these essays we see the Pond from the perspectives of writers who have swum there. Esther Freud describes the life-affirming sensation of swimming through the seasons; Lou Stoppard pays tribute to the winter swimmers who break the ice; Margaret Drabble reflects on the golden Hampstead days of her youth; Sharlene Teo visits for the first time; and Nell Frizzell shares the view from her yellow lifeguard's canoe.

Combining personal reminiscence with reflections on the history of the place over the years and through the changing seasons, At the Pond captures fourteen contemporary writers' impressions of this unique place.

From the Booker-nominated author of The Water Cure and Blue Ticket comes a chilling new feminist fable - an eerie and erotic historical mystery about desire, memory and madness 'Definitely don't miss the return of Sophie Mackintosh' Stylist 'Be sure to read everything Sophie Mackintosh writes' Deborah Levy In 1951, still reeling in the aftermath of the deadliest war the world had ever seen, the small French town of Pont-Saint-Esprit succumbed to a mass poisoning. Some historians believe the mysterious illness was caused by spoiled bread. Others claim it was the result of covert government testing on the local population. In the years before the disaster, there lived in the doomed town a woman named Elodie. She was the baker's wife: a plain, unremarkable person who yearned to transcend her dull existence. So when a charismatic new couple arrived in town (the forceful Ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet), Elodie quickly fell under their spell. Thus began a dangerous and intoxicating game of cat and mouse - but who was the predator and on whom did they prey? Audacious and mesmerising, Cursed Bread is a fevered confession, an entry into memory's hall of mirrors, a fable of obsession and transformation. Sophie Mackintosh spins a darkly gleaming tale of a town gripped by hysteria, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes. Praise for Sophie Mackintosh: 'An extraordinary debut - otherworldly, luminous, precise' Guardian on The Water Cure 'Dreamlike, tense, compelling, with a pitch-perfect ending' The New York Times on Blue Ticket 'An unsettling dark fantasy... It lingers long after the final page' Daily Telegraph on The Water Cure 'Blue Ticket will worms its way under your skin and haunt your dreams' Red

BRITISH VOGUE 'STAR OF THE FUTURE' INDEPENDENT BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE 'A gripping, sinister fable' Margaret Atwood (via Twitter) 'An extraordinary debut - otherworldly, luminous, precise' Guardian 'Bold, inventive, haunting... With shades of Margaret Atwood and Eimear McBride, you'll be bowled over by it' Stylist Grace, Lia and Sky live in an abandoned hotel, on a sun-bleached island, beside a poisoned sea. Their parents raised them there to keep them safe, to make them good. The world beyond the water is contaminated and men are the contamination. But one day three strangers wash ashore - men who stare at the sisters hungrily, helplessly. Men who bring trouble. This ebook edition includes an exclusive extract from Sophie Mackintosh's gripping second novel, Blue Ticket, which is out now. ***** 'A feminist fable set by the sea, a female Lord of the Flies. It felt like a book I'd been waiting to read for a long time' Emma Jane Unsworth 'Visceral, hypnotic, with one of my favourite endings I've read in a long while' The Pool 'An unsettling dark fantasy... [It] lingers long after the final page' Daily Telegraph

BY THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE RECOMMENDED READING by Stylist, Evening Standard, Esquire, Red, Daily Mail, Oprah Magazine, LitHub, and Emma Roberts's Belletrist Book Club For fans of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun... 'Definitely don't miss the return of Sophie Mackintosh' Stylist 'The cool intensity and strange beauty of Blue Ticket is a wonder - be sure to read everything Sophie Mackintosh writes' Deborah Levy Calla knows how the lottery works. Everyone does. On the day of your first bleed, you report to the lottery station to learn what kind of woman you will be. A white ticket grants you children. A blue ticket grants you freedom. You are relieved of the terrible burden of choice. Or, to put it another way, you have no choice. And once you've taken your ticket, there is no going back. But what if the life you're given is the wrong one? Blue Ticket is a devastating enquiry into free will and the fraught space of motherhood. Bold and chilling, it pushes beneath the skin of female identity and patriarchal violence, to the point where human longing meets our animal bodies. 'Dreamlike, tense, compelling, [with] a pitch-perfect ending' The New York Times 'Gripping, ethereal, atmospheric' Sunday Times 'Thoughtful and haunting' Observer 'Terrifying and enchanting in equal measure' LitHub 'Blue Ticket will worms its way under your skin and haunt your dreams' Red

Man Booker Prize-longlisted author of The Water Cure RECOMMENDED READING FOR 2020 by Stylist, Evening Standard, Esquire, Red, Daily Mail, Oprah Magazine, LitHub, and Emma Roberts's Belletrist Book Club 'The cool intensity and strange beauty of Blue Ticket is a wonder - be sure to read everything Sophie Mackintosh writes' Deborah Levy, author of Hot Milk 'Definitely don't miss the return of Sophie Mackintosh... She's amazing' Stylist, Best Reads of Autumn 2020 Calla knows how the lottery works. Everyone does. On the day of your first bleed, you report to the station to learn what kind of woman you will be. A white ticket grants you children. A blue ticket grants you freedom. You are relieved of the terrible burden of choice. And, once you've taken your ticket, there is no going back. But what if the life you're given is the wrong one? Blue Ticket is a devastating enquiry into free will and the fraught space of motherhood. Bold and chilling, it pushes beneath the skin of female identity and patriarchal violence, to the point where human longing meets our animal bodies. 'Dreamlike, tense, compelling, [with] a pitch-perfect ending' The New York Times 'Gripping, ethereal, atmospheric' Sunday Times 'Thoughtful and haunting' Observer 'Terrifying and enchanting in equal measure' LitHub 'Blue Ticket will worms its way under your skin and haunt your dreams' Red