The Dinner Party

‘This formidable debut offers plenty to savour … There are echoes here of Natasha Brown’s astonishing debut Assembly, as well as Olivia Sudjic’s Asylum Road’ GUARDIANWhat could have operated as a simple comedy of errors full of broken fridges, pompous guests and a wayward kitten, is revealed as something both far darker and more deeply emotionally compelling. A blistering debut * MARIE CLAIRE *Revels in exposing what lies beneath * IRISH TIMES *Beautifully written and brilliant on loneliness, grief and violence. Compelling * DAILY MAIL *A powerful, provocative study of female rage unleashed. Franca’s intoxicating tale is often darkly funny despite the subject matter * THE SCOTSMAN *‘A tense, provocative debut’ MAIL ON SUNDAYAn unflinching read * THE MIRROR *‘The Dinner Party is a profoundly confronting novel which consumed me whole. It’s tender, astonishing, and unflinching, and a deeply moving portrayal of experiencing sexual trauma in the domestic. Warning, dear reader, side effects may including utter speechlessness, a deep sinking feeling, and staring at walls for prolonged periods upon turning its final pages’ – LUCY ROSE, author of The Lamb‘An intimate, provocative, and irresistible debut. I was mesmerised’ – JAMIE ATTENBERG, author of The Middlesteins‘A mesmerising debut that will make you laugh and cry’ NAOMI KELSEY, author of The Burnings‘The Dinner Party is relentlessly engrossing and seething with suspense from the first to the very last word’ CHARLOTTE PARADISE, author of Overspill‘Raw, compassionate, and compelling - what a beautiful world we live in where a book can be messy and tender all at once’ LIT HUB‘A slow-burn, time-shifting, suspenseful thriller … Tense and compelling’ BOOKLIST

Viola van de Sandt has degrees in journalism, comparative literature and English literature from King’s College, London. A draft of a previous novel was longlisted in the 2019 Mslexia novel competition. She lives in the Netherlands.