Havoc: a blistering tragicomedy from the author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way
Rebecca Wait
Jul 2025 · riverrun · Narrated by Jacqui Bardelang
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12 hr 23 min
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'A LABYRINTHINE MYSTERY OF EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY' Jo Brand
'DELIRIOUS AND REWARDING' Guardian
'UNMISSABLE' Woman's Weekly
Fleeing Scotland in the wake of family disgrace, 16-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls' boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of the bomb, St Anne's seems like a refuge to Ida. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new room-mate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast.
Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.
And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida's scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?
READERS ARE LOVING HAVOC:
'Superb. Brilliantly funny, at times extremely poignant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Another beautifully written book by Rebecca' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I absolutely loved the humour in this book. Bonus points for the Cold War references' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Entertaining and humorous' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Praise for Rebecca Wait:
'IT'LL EASILY BE ONE OF MY BOOKS OF THE YEAR' Hannah Beckerman
'It's a warm book and a touching one. And did I mention it's funny? Just read it. You'll see' The Times
'Funny, tender and sad' Sunday Express
'If you liked Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss, you'll love this novel' Good Housekeeping
'One of the richest explorations of family dysfunction I've read' i newspaper
'Shades of Fleabag in this smart, funny drama' Mail on Sunday
'An enjoyably bittersweet novel about a dysfunctional modern family' Independent
'Razor-sharp ' Observer
'One of the funniest novels you'll read this year' Guardian
'DELIRIOUS AND REWARDING' Guardian
'UNMISSABLE' Woman's Weekly
Fleeing Scotland in the wake of family disgrace, 16-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls' boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of the bomb, St Anne's seems like a refuge to Ida. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new room-mate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast.
Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.
And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida's scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?
READERS ARE LOVING HAVOC:
'Superb. Brilliantly funny, at times extremely poignant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Another beautifully written book by Rebecca' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I absolutely loved the humour in this book. Bonus points for the Cold War references' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Entertaining and humorous' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Praise for Rebecca Wait:
'IT'LL EASILY BE ONE OF MY BOOKS OF THE YEAR' Hannah Beckerman
'It's a warm book and a touching one. And did I mention it's funny? Just read it. You'll see' The Times
'Funny, tender and sad' Sunday Express
'If you liked Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss, you'll love this novel' Good Housekeeping
'One of the richest explorations of family dysfunction I've read' i newspaper
'Shades of Fleabag in this smart, funny drama' Mail on Sunday
'An enjoyably bittersweet novel about a dysfunctional modern family' Independent
'Razor-sharp ' Observer
'One of the funniest novels you'll read this year' Guardian
About the author
Rebecca is the author of five novels, the most recent of which, I'm Sorry You Feel That Way, was a Times, Guardian, Express, Good Housekeeping, BBC Culture Book of the Year and it was shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize. Her novel, Our Fathers, received widespread acclaim and was a Guardian book of the year and a thriller of the month for Waterstones.
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