A House of Ruin

The first new novel in English from Jaqueline Harpman since the sensational I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN.

A subtly unsettling, mesmerising tale following a secretive family of matriarchs willing to do anything to protect their crumbing ancestral home.

After his car breaks down on a dark country lane, a lone male architect is stranded in the depths of the French backcountry. The only house for miles is a crumbling 18th-century mansion, exquisite despite its disrepair. With one knock at the door, he finds himself propelled into a bewitching all-female household.

But when marriage brings an unwelcome intruder into this ragged matriarchy, the family will stop at nothing to defend their home and their freedoms - by any means necessary.