Available Formats
The Favourite
By (Author) Fran Littlewood
Penguin Books Ltd
Michael Joseph Ltd
16th July 2025
12th June 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary
Humorous fiction
Narrative theme: Love and relationships
Narrative theme: Interior life
Hardback
400
Width 138mm, Height 222mm, Spine 40mm
500g
A story of three grown sisters, whose father - in a moment of crisis - accidentally lets slip that he has a favourite, from the author of New York Times bestseller Amazing Grace Adams. Alex, Eva and Nancy. Three grown-up sisters; each wonderful and messy in their own individual ways. And loved equally by their parents, Vivienne and Patrick. Or so they thought . . . Until on their annual family holiday, Patrick accidentally lets slip that he has a favourite daughter - causing other long-buried secrets to come to light. Set over a single week, but examining the highs and lows that define a family over the decades, The Favourite is a story about rivalries and long-held resentments, about loss and grief and blame - and, above all, about love.
Now and again I read a book which is so FABULOUS I get queasy with jealousy. This is one such book. God, I wish I had written it. Funny, dark, fascinating and utterly UTTERLY convincing. On my QWJ (Queasy With Jealousy) Scale, I award it 16/10. -- Marian Keyes
Fran writes like a wilder, more breathless Claire Lombardo . . . A huge talent. Set over the course of a family reunion that goes very wrong, THE FAVOURITE is a layered, textured story about the reverberations of the past and secrets in a family, and a psychologically astute look at love and relationships. Its wonderful and very funny. Youre in for such a treat. I LOVED it. -- Georgina Moore, author of The Garnett Girls
Fran Littlewood is an expert chronicler of family dynamics, and particularly the complex, competitive, and sparkling nature of sisterhood. Once I picked up THE FAVOURITE, I did not want to put it down until the last page was turned -- Lottie Hazell, author of Piglet
Fran Littlewood has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. She was taught by Andrew Motion and passed with distinction. Before that she worked as a journalist, including a stint at The Times. She lives in north London with her husband and their three girls. Her debut, Amazing Grace Adams, was a New York Times bestseller and Read With Jenna pick, and has been published in 17 territories to date. The Favourite is her second novel.