The Confession

(Paperback)

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The sensational new novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse. One winter's afternoon on Hampstead Heath in 1980, Elise Morceau meets Constance Holden and quickly falls under her spell. Connie is bold and alluring, a successful writer whose novel is being turned into a major Hollywood film. Elise follows Connie to LA, a city of strange dreams and swimming pools and late-night gatherings of glamorous people. But whilst Connie thrives on the heat and electricity of this new world where everyone is reaching for the stars and no one is telling the truth, Elise finds herself floundering. When she overhears a conversation at a party that turns everything on its head, Elise makes an impulsive decision that will change her life forever. Three decades later, Rose Simmons is seeking answers about her mother, who disappeared when she was a baby. Having learned that the last person to see her was Constance Holden, a reclusive novelist who withdrew from public life at the peak of her fame, Rose is drawn to the door of Connie's imposing house in search of a confession ... From the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse, this is a luminous, powerful and deeply moving novel about secrets and storytelling, motherhood and friendship, and how we lose and find ourselves. PRAISE FOR THE CONFESSION 'Dazzlingly good. The Confession is that rare thing: an utterly engrossing novel which asks big questions without ever once losing sight of the storyteller's need to entertain and move. I turned the final pages in tears and I know already I shall return to it again and again. Without doubt one of the best novels of recent years.' Elizabeth Day, author of The Party and How To Fail 'I haven't enjoyed a book so much in a long time . . . I lost myself in the story, not wanting to come up for air. A bold, intelligent, wonderful novel' Sarah Winman, author of Tin Man 'Burton is asking important questions in The Confession - questions about motherhood, art and creativity, love, friendship - and in doing this, she has created three utterly fascinating characters. Connie, Elise, and Rose are complicated; complex in ways that women are so rarely allowed to be in literature, demanding that their stories be heard. This is a beautiful novel and one that will stay with me for a very long time' Louise O'Neill, author of Only Ever Yours 'an absorbing, intelligent piece of storytelling' Guardian

Reviews

Dazzlingly good. The Confession is that rare thing: an utterly engrossing novel which asks big questions without ever once losing sight of the storyteller's need to entertain and move. I turned the final pages in tears and I know already I shall return to it again and again. Without doubt one of the best novels of recent years -- Elizabeth Day, author of The Party and How to Fail
I havent enjoyed a book so much in a long time . . . I lost myself in the story, not wanting to come up for air. A bold, intelligent, wonderful novel -- Sarah Winman, author of Tin Man
Burton is asking important questions in The Confession questions about motherhood, art and creativity, love, friendship and in doing this, she has created three utterly fascinating characters. Connie, Elise, and Rose are complicated; complex in ways that women are so rarely allowed to be in literature, demanding that their stories be heard. This is a beautiful novel and one that will stay with me for a very long time -- Louise ONeill, author of Only Ever Yours
Jessie Burton always writes perceptively about female identity and creativity, but here she also explores motherhood in all its guises and nuances to stunning effect * Red *
Her best yet, Im dazzled by it . . . its ambitious and courageous in its scope and I was thrilled and emboldened. The Confession is clever, assured and compelling and I am deeply jealous of every reader who has it all ahead of them -- Daisy Buchanan, author of The Sisterhood
Successful writer Constance 'Connie' Holden and Elise Morceau meet by chance on Hampstead Heath in 1980. Elise follows Connie to the glamorous world of LA, but it's not long before she makes a decision that changes everything, and a compelling mystery begins to unfold. An absorbing tale of self-discovery * Woman & Home *
An irresistible tale of families, deception and the consequences of our choices. With Connie, Rose and Elise, Jessie pours light into the closed-off parts of our minds, and explores how we can be both masters of and servants to our own fate. She unpicks you stitch by stitch, then puts you back together again -- Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars
A masterpiece about the autonomy of women and their roles in society, navigating Hollywood stardom, motherhood and fragmented identity * Irish Tatler *
An absorbing, intelligent piece of storytelling that succeeds in sustaining its mystery to the end * Observer *
The story of the intoxicating relationship between two women, and its fallout * Sunday Times Culture *
Stylish and riveting, Burton's latest is every bit as gripping as The Miniaturist, the debut that made her name * Vogue *
In The Confession, Jessie Burton hasnt just captured a myriad of womens experiences but also the intrinsic ambivalence of living in a female body: the advantages, the oppressions. Shes built a world of women that is so vivid and absorbing that at one point I paused in my reading to google Connie and only then remembered that she was a fictional character -- Jean Hannah Edelstein, author of This Really Isnt About You
The story of three women: Elise, Constance and Rose, who are united by love, rejection and self-understanding. What elevates the story is Burtons writing like in The Miniaturist and The Muse this is a book thatll sweep you along and make you reflect on your own choices in life * Stylist *
I loved Burton's debut, The Miniaturist, but this is even better! Rose's mother disappeared when she was a baby, and the last person to see her was Constance, a reclusive novelist based in Hampstead. When Rose tracks her down, will she get the answers she needs I was completely engrossed -- Nina Pottell, Prima
The Miniaturist author channels her talent for complex characters and absorbing mysteries into a new story about the connection between three women * Culture Whisper *
A powerful and deeply moving novel about secrets and storytelling, motherhood and friendship, and how we lose and find ourselves * Sheerluxe *

Author Bio

Jessie Burton is the author of the Sunday Times number one and New York Times bestsellers The Miniaturist and The Muse, and the children's book The Restless Girls. In its year of publication The Miniaturist sold over a million copies, and in 2017 it was adapted into a major TV series for BBC One. Her novels have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and she is a regular essay writer for newspapers and magazines. She lives in London.