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When We Were Bad  By  cover art

When We Were Bad

By: Charlotte Mendelson
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Publisher's summary

When We Were Bad is a spellbinding, witty and poignant portrayal of a family in crisis, in love, and in denial.

'As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess. A joy' – The Observer


In North London, Claudia Rubin is in her heyday. Wife, mother, rabbi – and sometimes moral voice of the nation – everyone wants to be with her at her son Leo's glorious wedding. That is, until Leo jilts his bride, and the gleaming bubble surrounding the Rubins threatens to burst.

Frances – Claudia's calm, mature, married daughter – tries to hold the nucleus of the family together, but the stress forces her to re-examine her own life, leading her to make a decision as shocking as Leo's choice to bolt.

And Claudia's husband, Norman, has an uncharacteristic secret. And, whether he likes it or not, he is powerless to stop it coming out . . .

'A comedy with the warmest of hearts and the most deliciously subversive of agendas' - Marie Claire

'Fast-paced and engaging. Brilliant, touching and true' - Naomi Alderman, bestselling author of The Power

©2024 Charlotte Mendelson (P)2024 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

'As intelligent as it is funny. A beautifully observed literary comedy as well as a painfully accurate description of one big old family mess. A joy' (Viv Groskop)

'Charlotte Mendelson’s When We Were Bad will take its place among classic accounts of tribal misadventure with the same apparent effortlessness that proves so pleasurable in her writing. Rarely can readers of contemporary fiction feel themselves to be in such safe hands' (Hannah Betts)

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