The Wildelings

A vivid and compulsive story of obsession, control and guilt, set in Nineties Dublin – perfect for fans of dark academia

The Wildelings arrives to fill the Secret History-shaped hole in your lives... Gloriously entertaining’ – Observer, Books to look out for in 2025.

‘A searing exploration into our deepest desires and insecurities. I adored it’ – Heather Darwent

‘I was gripped by this dark and thrilling fable’ – Dominic West

‘I was hooked from the very start’ – Rachel Joyce

Jessica and Linda have been best friends since the first day of school. Both girls are from very different broken homes – and beautiful, wilful Jessica has always ensured their survival.

Now eighteen, the two girls have come to Wilde – an elite university in the heart of Dublin, far away from their troubled childhoods. Jessica thrives immediately, and, with the faithful Linda at her side, finds herself at the heart of a new circle of friends.

But then Mark enters the picture. A philosophy student a few years older than them, he has strange and compelling ideas about self-discovery. When Linda and Mark start dating, Jessica is disturbed by the change in her friend – and how quickly she seems to have fallen under this abrasive, charismatic man’s control.

It turns out that Mark’s influence is not limited to Linda alone; and Jessica soon finds out that her whole group of friends are keeping secrets for him – culminating in a terrible tragedy that strikes at the end of their first year.

Years later, Jessica is still grappling with her guilt over what happened at Wilde. And when Mark resurfaces, she knows she owes it to herself – and Linda – to set the record straight once and for all.