The Palm House

The Palm House follows Edmund Putnam, who is just days away from the end of his 50th year. His solitary life is on the brink of change. The magazine to which he has dedicated his best decades faces closure, and Edmund is likely to lose his job this coming Monday morning. However, before this fateful event can occur, there are other equally daunting prospects to face: a date and a birthday.

Edmund's close friend, Laura, is concerned for him. She is about a decade younger, also employed by the same magazine, but she has the chance to escape. Laura has been offered the opportunity to leave the country and work abroad, but can she bring herself to take it?

Meanwhile, Edmund's father, Martin, has discovered a new zest for life. He has fallen in love with a waitress at a local café and has decided to rescue her from her brutish husband.

Unfolding over the course of a single weekend, as these three drifters reassess their fates and futures, The Palm House reads between the lines of modern life in a country slipping back into its past. Gwendoline Riley presents a novel that showcases her heartfelt and bravura style at its best.