The Good Time

Nell Stevens author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Simon & Schuster Ltd

Publishing:13th Aug '26

£16.99

This title is due to be published on 13th August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

This hardback is available in another edition too:

The Good Time cover

‘But we were having such a good time,’ I said. That was all there was, all I could say, whether or not it was enough. ‘Weren’t we? Weren’t we having such a good time?’

The first collection of short stories from the author of The Original

A woman suffering an extreme allergic reaction to a yoga mat returns to the UK to give a reading at her estranged best friend’s wedding; a corporate new starter desperately tries to persuade her colleague to accept that his online girlfriend doesn’t exist; a group of student activists stage an artful protest against the demolition of a tower block; a once inseparable friendship group confront the reason they drifted; and a self-taught pianist whose wife is six months pregnant decides she must travel to Warsaw to listen to Chopin’s heart.

In The Good Time, Nell Stevens introduces us to characters teetering on the edge of self-knowledge, unveiling the complexities of their inner worlds with empathy and humour.

Wry, precise and full of wisdom, these stories ask what it means to have a good time, and what happens when the good times end.

'Stevens is showing herself to be that rare thing: a writer who we can think alongside, even while she’s making things up' Lara Feigel, Guardian

Praise for Nell Stevens

The Original

'What a bewitching book this is. A sinuous, thrilling meditation on fakes and forgers, with echoes of Daphne du Maurier and Sarah Waters and an audacity that is totally original to Nell herself' ? Olivia Laing, author of THE GARDEN AGAINST TIME

‘Deliciously engaging and wildly intelligent. I adored this novel about art, authenticity and desire and am a devoted fan of Nell Stevens’ ? Aysegül Savas, author of THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS

‘A delightful, playful puzzle of a novel, and a brilliant twist on the nineteenth century orphan-makes-good story. THE ORIGINAL asks whether, sometimes, faking it is the right thing to do' ? Claire Fuller, author of UNSETTLED GROUND

‘A marvellously inventive and perfectly forged novel that poses a mischievous question: what role does likeness play in love? The ghosts of Oscar Wilde and Wilkie Collins stalk these pages, whether they know it or not’  ? Eleanor Catton, author of Birnam Wood

‘A wonderful novel about identity, creativity, money and belonging. It’s so witty and propulsive you will forget how brilliantly constructed it is, this tale that brims with the beauty of art, of how to triumph in a difficult world’ ? Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist

'Intricate, endlessly intriguing... The reader is kept guessing until the very end... as Stevens deftly raises the stakes, the pages seem to turn themselves. The narrative captivates intellectually, too, probing questions of authenticity, imitation, and self-realisation, in love and in art. The overall effect is of an author boldly stepping out on her own, pursuing themes that were hers all along.' ? Observer

‘Casually magisterial… Stevens is showing herself to be that rare thing: a writer who we can think alongside, even while she’s making things up' ? Lara Feigel, Guardian (book of the day)

‘Immaculate in structure, sure-footed in tone and propelled forward by a rising tide of apprehension, the novel is a captivatingly strange masterpiece of Victorian pastiche. It puts Stevens in the class of Sarah Waters and even du Maurier herself as a sharp-witted fiction writer whose masterly technique and style are matched and sustained by a compelling gift for spinning a yarn’ ? Miranda Seymour, Financial Times
 

Briefly, A Delicious Life
‘A gorgeous, wildly seductive novel, shimmering with intelligence, humour and joy’  ? Sarah Waters

‘Electrifyingly beautiful, exhilaratingly clever’  ? Imogen Hermes Gowar

‘Like the best historical fiction it is playfully disingenuous... the whole book is radiant with life’  ? Financial Times

‘Nell Stevens’s hugely accomplished debut novel evokes a sense both of place and time with a confidence that augurs well for her future career’ ? Guardian

Mrs Gaskell & Me

‘Stevens is a very artful writer’  ? Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker

‘A truly lovely book – acutely observed and honest and melancholy’  ? Jessie Greengrass

Bleaker House

‘Perfect… as funny as it is poignant’ ? Lena Dunham

ISBN: 9781398533417

Dimensions: 216mm x 135mm x 17mm

Weight: unknown

208 pages