The Benefactors — Wendy Erskine

AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL 2025

SHORTLISTED FOR NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE

'The style of Woolf but the heart of Dickens . . . impressive' Sunday Times

'Erskine's great gift is for character. Not a single figure in this novel feels contrived' Guardian

'A writer of an unrivalled range of imaginative empathy' Financial Times

'I couldn't put this book down' Sheena Patel, author of I'm a Fan

'A powerful, moving, compelling, utterly enthralling debut 'Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13

'Perfectly pitched, surefooted, and charged with feeling' Colin Barrett, author of Wild Houses

From the prize-winning author of Dance Move and Sweet Home, this is an astounding novel about intimate histories, class and money - and what being a parent means. Meet Frankie, Miriam and Bronagh: three very different women from Belfast, but all mothers to 18-year-old boys.

Gorgeous Frankie, now married to a wealthy, older man, grew up in care. Miriam has recently lost her beloved husband Kahlil in ambiguous circumstances. Bronagh, the CEO of a children's services charity, loves celebrity and prestige.

When their sons are accused of sexually assaulting a friend, Misty Johnston, they'll come together to protect their children, leveraging all the powers they possess. But on her side, Misty has the formidable matriarch, Nan D, and her father, taxi-driver Boogie: an alliance not so easily dismissed. Brutal, tender and rigorously intelligent, The Benefactors is a daring, polyphonic presentation of modern-day Northern Ireland.

It is also very funny. ? A book of the year for: the Observer, the Daily Mail and The Irish Times?