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The Palm House
Not yet published
Expected 2 Apr 26From the Women's Prize Shortlisted author of First Love
Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam have been friends for a long time. Theirs is a happy meeting of minds, with long evenings spent huddled in an ancient pub by the Thames, where they share office gossip, reflect on their teenage passions, and lament the state of the world.
Recently, though, Putnam has been harder to he has lost his father, and the magazine to which he has dedicated his life has been hijacked by an insufferable new editor, Simon ‘call me Shove’ Halfpenny.
Laura has her own a prickly mother and a tricky past, and in a beautiful and indifferent city, her day-to-day life is precarious. But as Putnam starts to sink into despondency, she must try to bring him back.
A novel of enduring friendships and small mercies, The Palm House offers us Gwendoline Riley’s trademark keen observation and wit, and leaves us - somehow - with a curious sense of possibility.
Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam have been friends for a long time. Theirs is a happy meeting of minds, with long evenings spent huddled in an ancient pub by the Thames, where they share office gossip, reflect on their teenage passions, and lament the state of the world.
Recently, though, Putnam has been harder to he has lost his father, and the magazine to which he has dedicated his life has been hijacked by an insufferable new editor, Simon ‘call me Shove’ Halfpenny.
Laura has her own a prickly mother and a tricky past, and in a beautiful and indifferent city, her day-to-day life is precarious. But as Putnam starts to sink into despondency, she must try to bring him back.
A novel of enduring friendships and small mercies, The Palm House offers us Gwendoline Riley’s trademark keen observation and wit, and leaves us - somehow - with a curious sense of possibility.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 2, 2026
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March 15, 2026
I did look into that, when I got in. I looked at prices for Paris and for Amsterdam. It was an easy thing to talk myself out of, though, when there was still so much I hadn’t seen in London. Putnam and I kept meaning to go to the Cabinet War Rooms. He often said, too, that I should go with him and his father one weekend to visit the ancient cycads in the Kew Gardens Palm House
The Palm House is Gwendoline Riley’s seventh novel and one that while it doesn’t really stretch the boundaries of her work, adds to an impressive oeuvre.
The first person narrator here is Laura, who as often with Riley’s narrators is too busy dissecting the life of her friends and her parents to analyse her own, which emerges in various vignettes, leaving that exercise to the reader. In my review of First Love I said: "It is both a difficulty with but also a strength of the novel, that it is quite hard to piece together Neve’s life, house moves and relationships, but that it also doesn't really matter," which I commented in my review of could be ported over simply by substituting Aislinn for Neve, and here the same would work for Laura.
The novel opens, although not dated, in October 2017 and the dust red skies over London from the Storm Ophelia sand storm, but this is rather a backdrop to the narrator’s conversation with her closest friend, Putnam (clearly his preferred sobriquet rather than Ed or Edward), aged 49 and older than Laura. Putnam has worked at a cultural magazine, Sequence, for 25 years, almost his entire career. Some months earlier a new editor was appointed by the publishing firm that owns the publication, after the death of the long-standing previous editor, and his desire to inject some modern approaches to the rather traditional, 50+ year old magazine (his vision is ‘a sort of London version of the New Yorker’) have gone down badly with the staff, and indeed with the loyal readership (‘of course we want to bring them along if we can’ retorts the new editor), and Putnam has resigned.
The narrator also introduces us to her rather quirky mother (a Riley staple) and the contrast to Putnam is striking:
I once tried to describe my mother's particular way of talking to Putnam. I was trying to nail down something about the mixture of hyperbole and deprecation, about a world where sod's law was the natural law. Putnam, it turned out, was the wrong person to deliberate with.
'Northern,' he said.
'Eh?'
'The word you're looking for is Northern.'
'Everything's a laff,' he said. 'Nothing's to be taken seriously. Nothing's worthy of the slightest bit of respect. Or thought. Nothing can be sat with for even one second. Instead we get this annihilating flippancy. I'm sorry, Laura, I loathe it. It's everything I've fought against for my whole life.'
And she also covers, inter Alia, her absent father, and her brief relationship with a rakish actor, one who indeed seemed to be acting in real-life the part of a rakish actor.
But the novel’s real power is in the portrayal of Laura and Putnam’s friendship as well as their self-limiting view that they don’t deserve anything more, their life confined to a small circle of friends and a relatively small part of South London (Putnam works in Tooley Street and lives close by in Shad Thames), Laura’s rejection (see the opening quote) of a friend’s suggestion that she might eg try a holiday, even a brief city break, rather telling (and they don’t even make it out to Kew and the Palm House).
For now, my new habit was to look around the Tate during my lunch hour. I crossed the river at Vauxhall Bridge. There was the knock-knock sound of my boots on Milbank, the sudden wind, the large leaves cart-wheeling along the promenade.
After work, if I wanted to think about the future, I might have a drink in one of those dark-wood, etched-glass Victorian pubs near Pimlico, sitting on a wobbling stool by the wall.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC
The Palm House is Gwendoline Riley’s seventh novel and one that while it doesn’t really stretch the boundaries of her work, adds to an impressive oeuvre.
The first person narrator here is Laura, who as often with Riley’s narrators is too busy dissecting the life of her friends and her parents to analyse her own, which emerges in various vignettes, leaving that exercise to the reader. In my review of First Love I said: "It is both a difficulty with but also a strength of the novel, that it is quite hard to piece together Neve’s life, house moves and relationships, but that it also doesn't really matter," which I commented in my review of could be ported over simply by substituting Aislinn for Neve, and here the same would work for Laura.
The novel opens, although not dated, in October 2017 and the dust red skies over London from the Storm Ophelia sand storm, but this is rather a backdrop to the narrator’s conversation with her closest friend, Putnam (clearly his preferred sobriquet rather than Ed or Edward), aged 49 and older than Laura. Putnam has worked at a cultural magazine, Sequence, for 25 years, almost his entire career. Some months earlier a new editor was appointed by the publishing firm that owns the publication, after the death of the long-standing previous editor, and his desire to inject some modern approaches to the rather traditional, 50+ year old magazine (his vision is ‘a sort of London version of the New Yorker’) have gone down badly with the staff, and indeed with the loyal readership (‘of course we want to bring them along if we can’ retorts the new editor), and Putnam has resigned.
The narrator also introduces us to her rather quirky mother (a Riley staple) and the contrast to Putnam is striking:
I once tried to describe my mother's particular way of talking to Putnam. I was trying to nail down something about the mixture of hyperbole and deprecation, about a world where sod's law was the natural law. Putnam, it turned out, was the wrong person to deliberate with.
'Northern,' he said.
'Eh?'
'The word you're looking for is Northern.'
'Everything's a laff,' he said. 'Nothing's to be taken seriously. Nothing's worthy of the slightest bit of respect. Or thought. Nothing can be sat with for even one second. Instead we get this annihilating flippancy. I'm sorry, Laura, I loathe it. It's everything I've fought against for my whole life.'
And she also covers, inter Alia, her absent father, and her brief relationship with a rakish actor, one who indeed seemed to be acting in real-life the part of a rakish actor.
But the novel’s real power is in the portrayal of Laura and Putnam’s friendship as well as their self-limiting view that they don’t deserve anything more, their life confined to a small circle of friends and a relatively small part of South London (Putnam works in Tooley Street and lives close by in Shad Thames), Laura’s rejection (see the opening quote) of a friend’s suggestion that she might eg try a holiday, even a brief city break, rather telling (and they don’t even make it out to Kew and the Palm House).
For now, my new habit was to look around the Tate during my lunch hour. I crossed the river at Vauxhall Bridge. There was the knock-knock sound of my boots on Milbank, the sudden wind, the large leaves cart-wheeling along the promenade.
After work, if I wanted to think about the future, I might have a drink in one of those dark-wood, etched-glass Victorian pubs near Pimlico, sitting on a wobbling stool by the wall.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Palm House is only the second novel that I've read by Gwendoline Riley. It is a much more passive and thoughtful novel than My Phantoms. For me it was missing impact in a lot of areas but if you read it as a look at the lives of ordinary people growing older and coming to terms with inevitable changes then it does exactly what I should. I think, after the beginning when dealing with Laura's chaotic (and often dangerous) childhood, I expected more surprises.
However we follow the course of Laura's life working for Sequence, a publication which caters to "young fogeys" and where she becomes friends with Putnam whose nose is put out of joint following the arrival of a new editor who wants to shake things up.
The Palm House is a gentle novel with its characters weaving in and out of each other's lives as they try to find careers and homes where they can be happy - or at least live without mould and caterpillars.
I enjoyed it to a point even if it felt much more disjointed than "Phantoms". I still need to read more by this author. Her prose is exquisite.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Picador for the digital review copy.
However we follow the course of Laura's life working for Sequence, a publication which caters to "young fogeys" and where she becomes friends with Putnam whose nose is put out of joint following the arrival of a new editor who wants to shake things up.
The Palm House is a gentle novel with its characters weaving in and out of each other's lives as they try to find careers and homes where they can be happy - or at least live without mould and caterpillars.
I enjoyed it to a point even if it felt much more disjointed than "Phantoms". I still need to read more by this author. Her prose is exquisite.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Picador for the digital review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Palm House, the latest novel by Gwendoline Riley, is another striking slice of contemporary life, of a woman - this time Laura Miller - with a complex relationship with her mother and of her friendship with an older man, Edward Putnam (just Putnam to his friends). He is a long term writer with a magazine, Sequence, but about to be shoved out by a new, younger editor. Laura is also adrift in her own way, and the friendship between these two souls forms the backbone of this novel.
I have long admired Riley's fiction - I came onboard with her debut Cold Water in 2002 - and have read everything she has published since. The Palm House treads her familiar themes, but never feels like a repition. From the beautiful opening sentences, Riley grips in a way few manage; she has a sharp eye, and a scapel-sharp style of prose that gets right to the beating heart of her characters. If you've not read her before, this is a great place to start. If you've liked her previous works, this one will be a treat.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
I have long admired Riley's fiction - I came onboard with her debut Cold Water in 2002 - and have read everything she has published since. The Palm House treads her familiar themes, but never feels like a repition. From the beautiful opening sentences, Riley grips in a way few manage; she has a sharp eye, and a scapel-sharp style of prose that gets right to the beating heart of her characters. If you've not read her before, this is a great place to start. If you've liked her previous works, this one will be a treat.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
March 7, 2026
Brilliant slices of life, with magnificently captured dialogue. Not really a novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In the office, meanwhile, I heard Putnam was being fantastic: keeping everyone else’s spirits up, protecting what he could. Containment was the policy. The mediocrity of Shove was ever-ready and rapacious but Vik and Putnam, Katherine told me, were running interference in editorial meetings, and had a nice line, too, in steamrollering: there could be no argument about the pieces the staff wanted to run.
In Books of My Life set of questions in the Guardian earlier this year, Saba Sams (possibly one of the hottest properties in the UK literary fiction scene) said in response to the prompt “The Writer Who changed my mind” : “Gwendoline Riley, for repeatedly writing claustrophobic novels from the perspective of an enigmatic female protagonist. I internalised at some point that writers were supposed to leap from book to book showing off their huge range, but I find Riley’s approach far braver and more compelling.”
And that perfectly captures I think the sense of this author with her very distinctive approach to novels (even if I believe the author – whose approach to interviews/book signings seems in keeping with her novels - does not agree with some of the characterisations).
I have read her two previous novels (her 5th and 6th I believe): “First Love” (2017) which was almost universally recognised on book prize shortlists (Women’s Prize, the Gordon Burn Prize, Goldsmiths Prize, Dylan Thomas Prize, James Tait Black Memorial Prize); “My Phantoms” (2021) which was almost universally recognised on book of the year reviews (with only a Folio Prize shortlisting); and now this her 7th “The Palm House” ubiquitous this time for its appearance on 2026 previews.
I would characterise her recent approach as: short novels written in non-linear fragments; a first party female narrator (the New Statesmen has previously said the narrators appear to age across her books in line with the author); us learning about that narrator through two sources – firstly incidents from their past (Riley is far more interested in what lead to the person we see today than in actually exploring present day actions or especially their future prospects), and secondly their observations of others (albeit not to Cusk “annihilated perspective sense”); a forensic level of observations – one area that Riley repeatedly comes back to in interviews, and which she deploys in her writing via her narrators, is her ability to observe and capture on paper verbal tics/mannerisms/ways of being in the world – often invisible to the actual person; and from that a focus on flaws – one of her favourite words I have seen in interviews about both her previous books is about people being incorrigible; dysfunctional family dynamics and particularly difficult mothers.
And notwithstanding that Riley has slightly changed her focus here: perhaps her most London based novel (in particular South London in and around Tolley Street – an area that for me – due to London Bridge station - is the welcome gateway to my City work as well as the even more welcome exit at the day’s end from the London grime to the Surrey Hills); one where she has specifically drawn on the writing of Penelope Fitzgerald to present a very English collective around a common goal; thematically the exploration of accommodation in the literal form of rooms/housing extending to accommodation of ones quirks within a group ………….. all of the characteristic approaches I mention feature here in my view.
Anchored in late 2017, the main character and first party narrator is Laura Miller – and the centre of the novel is her friendship (going back to university days at the UCL) with Edmund Putnam.
Edmund is a long standing cultural editor at Sequence, a 50+ year magazine with elements of the Spectator, New Statesman and TLS (as an aside Riley was previously married to a TLS editor) once seen as something of an young-fogey magazine (Ken Barlow being portrayed once as a fan in Corrie), then a little more politically engaged but now subject to a corporate make over from an owner-imposed editor who Edmund hates and who does not seem to understand the magazine’s strengths. He is also dealing with the death of his father
For Laura we learn more of her past – her (of course) difficult relationship with a mother at once overbearing and neglectful (one the more seedy parts of the novel has a 16 year old Laura being groomed by a TV and stage comedian with her mother’s apparent disinterest), her various houses and the people she encounters which include an over the top actor and a TV producer; some other incidents from her childhood (which are part autobiographical) and so on.
I have to say that I did not entirely think this was Riley at her finest: the actor we are told “was so actorly, he seemed at times to be acting the part of an actor”; in a novel which features office politics and has an overbearing un self-aware boss we get a reference to Laura’s father being unable to watch The Office as it was too close to his corporate life; in what I would call sitcom style a character is given an unlikely surname – Halfpenny – just so he can be given a nickname – Shove. And all of these seemed a little too uncharacteristically unsubtle for me.
But its one which will I think satisfy her many fans and may well give her more prize listing this year.
My thanks to Picador for an ARC via NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam have been friends for years, frequently meeting in an old Southwark riverside pub to gossip, reminisce and put the world to rights. However, Edmund doesn’t seem quite himself, his father has died and he’s handed his notice in at the magazine “Sequence” where he worked for 25 years. The latter in part is owing to an insufferable young new editor, Simon Halfpenny, known as Shove and not affectionately so, who envisages a new direction for the magazine. Laura herself has her issues, some of which lie in the past. She has an awkward relationship with her impatient and tricky mother who can be disinterested and detached and Laura’s day-to-day existence can be described as precarious. However, her paramount concern is her friend Putnam who seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into misery and despair and so she needs to try to break the ever deepening descent into the slough of despond.
I’ve not read this author before but she pulls me into the storytelling with a very atmospheric start, there’s the old pub in which the friends meet, the Saharan sandstorm of 2017 affecting London as well as the magazine. I like her style of writing, there’s clarity and colour but nothing unnecessary which allows the friendship of this pair, their personalities, the characters in their lives and the fantastic dialogue to shine through. It’s witty, making me smile at some of the images conveyed.
Laura’s early memories with her mother do make me smile though I have absolutely no clue of the origins of an oft repeated phrase “Speaka to Charlie”! However, it can be a separate and lonely existence, until Laura is doing her A-levels and from then on her recollections are part joyous, part concerning and scary as her naivety gets her into trouble and some are sad or demonstrate the instability of her life.
Her relationships, especially with Putnam are reflective, their dialogue is intelligent, witty and entertaining and makes me feel a bit like a fly on the wall. Putnam‘s grief is palpable as is his dissatisfaction with aspects of his life which is clear for all to see. As for Laura, perhaps now her life is about to take an upward turn and maybe Putnam is over the worst.
Overall, this is a reflective, well observed character study which I really enjoy and it makes me want to check out the author’s other work.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan Macmillan/Picador for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
I’ve not read this author before but she pulls me into the storytelling with a very atmospheric start, there’s the old pub in which the friends meet, the Saharan sandstorm of 2017 affecting London as well as the magazine. I like her style of writing, there’s clarity and colour but nothing unnecessary which allows the friendship of this pair, their personalities, the characters in their lives and the fantastic dialogue to shine through. It’s witty, making me smile at some of the images conveyed.
Laura’s early memories with her mother do make me smile though I have absolutely no clue of the origins of an oft repeated phrase “Speaka to Charlie”! However, it can be a separate and lonely existence, until Laura is doing her A-levels and from then on her recollections are part joyous, part concerning and scary as her naivety gets her into trouble and some are sad or demonstrate the instability of her life.
Her relationships, especially with Putnam are reflective, their dialogue is intelligent, witty and entertaining and makes me feel a bit like a fly on the wall. Putnam‘s grief is palpable as is his dissatisfaction with aspects of his life which is clear for all to see. As for Laura, perhaps now her life is about to take an upward turn and maybe Putnam is over the worst.
Overall, this is a reflective, well observed character study which I really enjoy and it makes me want to check out the author’s other work.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan Macmillan/Picador for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was my first time reading Gwendoline Riley, an author whose work has been longlisted and shortlisted for numerous literary prizes, so I was keen to see what all the attention was about. The Palm House immediately establishes itself as a novel far more concerned with mood, character, and observation than with plot, and it’s clear early on that this is a deliberate choice rather than a shortcoming.
The story unfolds largely through shared drinks, drifting conversations, and recollections between two friends, Laura and Putnam. On the surface, very little happens, but Riley has a sharp eye for the emotional undercurrents that run beneath everyday interactions. Putnam’s grief, Laura’s low-level dissatisfaction with her life, the quiet absurdities of cultural workplace politics, and a shared nostalgia for a fading London are all rendered with subtlety and restraint. These elements combine to create something quietly poignant, often wry, and occasionally uncomfortably funny.
I enjoyed the novel’s slow, meandering, character-driven approach and its finely tuned observational style. Riley excels at capturing the things people don’t quite say, as well as the awkward pauses and small irritations that shape long-standing relationships. That said, the lack of a more defined narrative arc may prove frustrating or distracting for some readers, particularly those looking for momentum or a clear sense of direction. It’s a book that asks for patience and rewards attentiveness, rather than one that pulls you along through plot alone.
The Palm House isn’t a blockbuster or a page-turner in the conventional sense, but it lingers in the mind after finishing. It’s reflective, intelligent, and quietly affecting — a novel that finds meaning in the ordinary and discomfort in the familiar. While I’m not entirely sure it was the ideal introduction to Riley’s work, it has certainly left me curious to read more from her.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Picador for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story unfolds largely through shared drinks, drifting conversations, and recollections between two friends, Laura and Putnam. On the surface, very little happens, but Riley has a sharp eye for the emotional undercurrents that run beneath everyday interactions. Putnam’s grief, Laura’s low-level dissatisfaction with her life, the quiet absurdities of cultural workplace politics, and a shared nostalgia for a fading London are all rendered with subtlety and restraint. These elements combine to create something quietly poignant, often wry, and occasionally uncomfortably funny.
I enjoyed the novel’s slow, meandering, character-driven approach and its finely tuned observational style. Riley excels at capturing the things people don’t quite say, as well as the awkward pauses and small irritations that shape long-standing relationships. That said, the lack of a more defined narrative arc may prove frustrating or distracting for some readers, particularly those looking for momentum or a clear sense of direction. It’s a book that asks for patience and rewards attentiveness, rather than one that pulls you along through plot alone.
The Palm House isn’t a blockbuster or a page-turner in the conventional sense, but it lingers in the mind after finishing. It’s reflective, intelligent, and quietly affecting — a novel that finds meaning in the ordinary and discomfort in the familiar. While I’m not entirely sure it was the ideal introduction to Riley’s work, it has certainly left me curious to read more from her.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Picador for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 25, 2026
Laura and Putnam are colleagues. They work together at Sequence magazine, a high-brow editorial with a swanky London office. But when a new editor takes charge - Simon, who insists everyone call him ‘Shove’ - this is the last straw for Putnam. Middle-aged and lonely, he finds himself drifting, and it’s Laura’s job as his friend to pull him back.
Through a series of conversations over post-work drinks, we get to know Laura and Putnam as people, friends and editors. Riley inserts into these scenes a middle section all about Laura’s upbringing, too. I found this part to be well written and a frankly harrowing tale, but mainly a bit disjointed - I couldn’t really understand how this glimpse into Laura’s past related to what we see of her in the present, and wish we could have built on that more.
Onto Putnam as a character: I found him more and more grating as the story continued. But, honestly, I think maybe that was the point. After witnessing what Laura had experienced as a child, Putnam’s complaints on the whole seemed even more privileged, and I felt sorry for him for approximately 30 pages - his ‘woe is me’ schtick got old fast. But again, I think this is an important point that Riley is intentionally making. Laura and Putnam hail from totally different backgrounds, and hence have varying wants, needs and worries as adults. The meat of their conversation is often these discrepancies in their characters.
This book was, overall, an interesting character study. I think Riley has a great writer’s grasp of human nature and interaction, but, for me, the novel had a few pacing flaws and wasn’t all that memorable. However, I would definitely recommend for those of us ‘vibes over plot’ readers!
Thank you to Picador and Gwendoline Riley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Through a series of conversations over post-work drinks, we get to know Laura and Putnam as people, friends and editors. Riley inserts into these scenes a middle section all about Laura’s upbringing, too. I found this part to be well written and a frankly harrowing tale, but mainly a bit disjointed - I couldn’t really understand how this glimpse into Laura’s past related to what we see of her in the present, and wish we could have built on that more.
Onto Putnam as a character: I found him more and more grating as the story continued. But, honestly, I think maybe that was the point. After witnessing what Laura had experienced as a child, Putnam’s complaints on the whole seemed even more privileged, and I felt sorry for him for approximately 30 pages - his ‘woe is me’ schtick got old fast. But again, I think this is an important point that Riley is intentionally making. Laura and Putnam hail from totally different backgrounds, and hence have varying wants, needs and worries as adults. The meat of their conversation is often these discrepancies in their characters.
This book was, overall, an interesting character study. I think Riley has a great writer’s grasp of human nature and interaction, but, for me, the novel had a few pacing flaws and wasn’t all that memorable. However, I would definitely recommend for those of us ‘vibes over plot’ readers!
Thank you to Picador and Gwendoline Riley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Oh but this was wonderful - an instant favourite. It’s the first of Gwendoline Riley’s novels I’ve read and I will now have to (a) acquire a copy when it is published and (b) read all of her backlist.
Narrator Laura invites us into her world in small vignettes. We start with her friend and mentor Putnam who at 49 and having just lost his father is having to step away from the literary magazine for which he has been literary editor for quarter of a century.
We go on to meet the rest of the magazine staff, and to hear about how Laura met them through an event at her alma mater UCL and how ever since, despite having contributed only a few long form essays she has been one of the group congregating in a pub by the Thames on Friday evenings.
We also meet the cast of characters from Laura’s youth - her dreadful father, maternal grandmother with whom Laura and her mother lived when her parents divorced, the friend she made through following a weird and ultimately predatory standup comedian when she was a teenager, and an assorted cast of literary and media types who flit in and out of Laura’s life.
At some point we become aware that we too are butterflies landing on her somewhat passive shoulders for a few moments and we begin to feel an urgency to know how things will turn out, for Putnam and the magazine at least.
For me this belongs on the bookshelf with Margaret Drabble and Beryl Bainbridge - two of my absolute favourite writers. Riley appears to have the same gift - to provide a glimpse into the lives of people who wouldn’t appeal to me in real life but, viewed through the author’s lens become fascinating for the duration of the novel.
🙏 Picador for access to the eARC
Narrator Laura invites us into her world in small vignettes. We start with her friend and mentor Putnam who at 49 and having just lost his father is having to step away from the literary magazine for which he has been literary editor for quarter of a century.
We go on to meet the rest of the magazine staff, and to hear about how Laura met them through an event at her alma mater UCL and how ever since, despite having contributed only a few long form essays she has been one of the group congregating in a pub by the Thames on Friday evenings.
We also meet the cast of characters from Laura’s youth - her dreadful father, maternal grandmother with whom Laura and her mother lived when her parents divorced, the friend she made through following a weird and ultimately predatory standup comedian when she was a teenager, and an assorted cast of literary and media types who flit in and out of Laura’s life.
At some point we become aware that we too are butterflies landing on her somewhat passive shoulders for a few moments and we begin to feel an urgency to know how things will turn out, for Putnam and the magazine at least.
For me this belongs on the bookshelf with Margaret Drabble and Beryl Bainbridge - two of my absolute favourite writers. Riley appears to have the same gift - to provide a glimpse into the lives of people who wouldn’t appeal to me in real life but, viewed through the author’s lens become fascinating for the duration of the novel.
🙏 Picador for access to the eARC
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Gwendoline Riley is an author whose name kept coming to my attention, so when I saw her latest novel on NetGalley, I decided to finally read something by her. I am so delighted that I did give her a try as I loved this understated, intelligent, thoughtful novel, which says so much about contemporary life.
Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam are friends. Putnam is 49, lives alone and works for a cultural magazine, 'Sequence,' which Laura occasionally writes for. Although he has worked there for twenty-five years, he leaves after the arrival of a brash, new editor. Simon 'call me Shove' Halfpenny, has no understanding of the magazine and anyone who has worked in any office will sympathise as he bulldozes his way through established working methods, causing havoc and upset.
Laura is younger and has a somewhat fraught relationship with her mother. The novel goes back and forth through her life, relating the sometimes dangerous situations that young women get themselves into. I loved seeing things through her eyes, eavesdropping on her conversations, getting to know her.
I am an avid reader and there are so many books and authors calling for your attention. The test is whether you would read more by a new author. In this case, it is a resounding yes. I want to read everything Gwendoline Riley has written and she is a discovered author that I know will become a favourite. I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley for review.
Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam are friends. Putnam is 49, lives alone and works for a cultural magazine, 'Sequence,' which Laura occasionally writes for. Although he has worked there for twenty-five years, he leaves after the arrival of a brash, new editor. Simon 'call me Shove' Halfpenny, has no understanding of the magazine and anyone who has worked in any office will sympathise as he bulldozes his way through established working methods, causing havoc and upset.
Laura is younger and has a somewhat fraught relationship with her mother. The novel goes back and forth through her life, relating the sometimes dangerous situations that young women get themselves into. I loved seeing things through her eyes, eavesdropping on her conversations, getting to know her.
I am an avid reader and there are so many books and authors calling for your attention. The test is whether you would read more by a new author. In this case, it is a resounding yes. I want to read everything Gwendoline Riley has written and she is a discovered author that I know will become a favourite. I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley for review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Palm House was my first novel by Gwendolyn Riley, and I am now eager to read her acclaimed previous novels, including First Love and My Phantoms.
Set in London, the story follows two friends, Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam. Ed has resigned from a publishing house where he worked for 25 years, disgruntled after a new manager arrives with views that clash with how the publication was built. Laura, who has also sometimes written for the magazine, becomes Ed’s younger friend.
Through Laura’s perspective, we see periods of her past, including a strained relationship with her emotionally unavailable mother and a trauma she experienced as a teenager. Laura feels somewhat stagnant—not quite where she had hoped she would be in life—and seeks to comfort Ed, who is grieving the loss of his father and sinking into a deep depression.
The novel unfolds in brief, vignette-like sections, leaving the reader to piece together what happens in between. Riley uses simple, fluid narration, focusing more on character than plot. The characters feel like ordinary people looking back on their lives and coming to terms with aging.
There is humour woven throughout, though a melancholic undercurrent remains. This will appeal to readers who enjoy introspective, character-driven fiction without a neat resolution.
Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC and for introducing me to this gifted writer.
Set in London, the story follows two friends, Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam. Ed has resigned from a publishing house where he worked for 25 years, disgruntled after a new manager arrives with views that clash with how the publication was built. Laura, who has also sometimes written for the magazine, becomes Ed’s younger friend.
Through Laura’s perspective, we see periods of her past, including a strained relationship with her emotionally unavailable mother and a trauma she experienced as a teenager. Laura feels somewhat stagnant—not quite where she had hoped she would be in life—and seeks to comfort Ed, who is grieving the loss of his father and sinking into a deep depression.
The novel unfolds in brief, vignette-like sections, leaving the reader to piece together what happens in between. Riley uses simple, fluid narration, focusing more on character than plot. The characters feel like ordinary people looking back on their lives and coming to terms with aging.
There is humour woven throughout, though a melancholic undercurrent remains. This will appeal to readers who enjoy introspective, character-driven fiction without a neat resolution.
Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC and for introducing me to this gifted writer.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
‘The Palm House’ by Gwendoline Riley is a simple yet compelling novel. Not much happens by way of plot, and I’d be hard pressed to summarise the story or state what it’s really about or what the author is trying to say, but the writing is superb, as is the characterisation, and this combination alone was enough to draw me forward through the novel and devour it in just a couple of sittings.
The writing is precise, and lacks any ostentation. While reading, I could picture the characters so clearly, feel their emotional states so vividly, it felt like for a few hours I had been immersed in their world—a world as real as my own. It isn’t often that characters come through the page with such clarity.
The rhythm of the prose is excellent, too. It has a melodic, dreamlike quality that gives the novel a very particular atmosphere, an almost liminal feel. This feeling, and the way it lingers after reading, is a large part of the novel’s charm.
In terms of who I’d recommend this book to, it’s definitely one for readers who appreciate atmosphere and depth of characterisation over plot or tangible meaning. It is perfect for anyone who wants to bask for a while in quietly stunning writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Gwendoline Riley and Picador for the ARC.
⚠️ Adult/minor relationship, death of a parent, drug use
The writing is precise, and lacks any ostentation. While reading, I could picture the characters so clearly, feel their emotional states so vividly, it felt like for a few hours I had been immersed in their world—a world as real as my own. It isn’t often that characters come through the page with such clarity.
The rhythm of the prose is excellent, too. It has a melodic, dreamlike quality that gives the novel a very particular atmosphere, an almost liminal feel. This feeling, and the way it lingers after reading, is a large part of the novel’s charm.
In terms of who I’d recommend this book to, it’s definitely one for readers who appreciate atmosphere and depth of characterisation over plot or tangible meaning. It is perfect for anyone who wants to bask for a while in quietly stunning writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Gwendoline Riley and Picador for the ARC.
⚠️ Adult/minor relationship, death of a parent, drug use
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
While this lacks the poisonous brutality and sharpness of Riley's My Phantoms, this book does showcase the way she slips with such ease in and out of her characters, switching between them, and from the past that made them the people they are, to the present moment where the future might still not be quite fixed.
Everything feels a little dialled down in this book: Laura is a paler character than many of Riley's women, there's an additional focus on male characters in their own right, and even Laura's mother isn't as lacerating as Hen from My Phantoms.
My attention slightly drifted through this, though Riley's bite really came back for me in the quietly horrific story of Laura's past
This feels a generally fainter and more muted work than I've seen from Riley, more diffuse with the range of characters and situations, and perhaps diluted for those very reasons. But I think this will linger, all the same, in my mind: 3.5 stars rounded up.
Many thanks to Picador for an ARC via NetGalley
Everything feels a little dialled down in this book: Laura is a paler character than many of Riley's women, there's an additional focus on male characters in their own right, and even Laura's mother isn't as lacerating as Hen from My Phantoms.
My attention slightly drifted through this, though Riley's bite really came back for me in the quietly horrific story of Laura's past
This feels a generally fainter and more muted work than I've seen from Riley, more diffuse with the range of characters and situations, and perhaps diluted for those very reasons. But I think this will linger, all the same, in my mind: 3.5 stars rounded up.
Many thanks to Picador for an ARC via NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
“Never mind carrying a cross, it felt at times as if Putnam had decided to wear a coffin when he came out for a drink. It was as if he were wearing this coffin and daring us all to say something about it. I imagined a coffin propped up near our table and Putnam occasionally bashing open the lid to shout, 'Don't mind me!'” I so loved Gwendoline Riley’s latest novel, The Palm House, out from Picador next month (thanks, as ever, to Kieran from Picador for sending me a proof!). It’s a slow and subtle character study, not only of the narrator Laura but of her friend Edmund Putnam, who finds himself in a depressive rut after leaving a rapidly worsening job at the literary magazine he loves, while still fresh from grieving the death of his father. It’s understated and little happens, but Riley’s skill for acute psychological depth is as hones as ever, and even though I’m not often a fan of dialogue-heavy books, the absorbing conversational realism here makes it worthwhile. The chapters exploring Laura’s own past, though uncomfortable and tinged with sadness, were particularly revelatory and compelling. Another fine, layered work from Riley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This novel is about friendship, memory, grief and workplace culture amongst media professionals in London.
It’s narrated by Laura Miller who works for Sequence magazine and is a series of vignettes, primarily about her friendship with Edmund Puttnam who quits the magazine following grief over the death of his father and the arrival of a pushy new editor. We also learn about Laura’s past life, her difficult mother and a deeply troubling relationship with a male comedian.
I was wondering why the novel is called The Palm House and read in an interview with Riley in the Bookseller that it’s a reference to Ibsen’s Doll’s House and that the palm house in the book is the ‘perfectly calibrated environment’ that Putnam has constructed around his job at Sequence, before the disruption caused by the arrival of the new editor.
I think Riley writes beautifully and her observations on life in London and particularly the struggle for young professionals to afford to live there are spot on. While I admire the writing, liked the characters of Laura and Putnam, overall I struggled with the lack of a plot.
Thanks to Picador and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
It’s narrated by Laura Miller who works for Sequence magazine and is a series of vignettes, primarily about her friendship with Edmund Puttnam who quits the magazine following grief over the death of his father and the arrival of a pushy new editor. We also learn about Laura’s past life, her difficult mother and a deeply troubling relationship with a male comedian.
I was wondering why the novel is called The Palm House and read in an interview with Riley in the Bookseller that it’s a reference to Ibsen’s Doll’s House and that the palm house in the book is the ‘perfectly calibrated environment’ that Putnam has constructed around his job at Sequence, before the disruption caused by the arrival of the new editor.
I think Riley writes beautifully and her observations on life in London and particularly the struggle for young professionals to afford to live there are spot on. While I admire the writing, liked the characters of Laura and Putnam, overall I struggled with the lack of a plot.
Thanks to Picador and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
March 20, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this advance copy.
Gentle and thoughtful, this novel is like a set of short stories guiding through the experiences that make a person.
It doesn’t follow a timeline or plot but is more about the mood, smoothly moving through the characters’ past and checking into the present day in beats.
Laura, the protagonist, remained quite mysterious to me, shown through these moments in her life.
In points the feeling is lonely and cruel, others showing the strength of a long term friendship and the difficulty of reading people’s feelings.
There was also the strong sense of negative economic change in society - that a standard wage cannot buy a home, that an egotistical bigwig can take a top job they don’t care about, throw their weight around and crush a community.
I’ve read each of Gwendoline’s previous books and can’t wait to she what she does next.
Gentle and thoughtful, this novel is like a set of short stories guiding through the experiences that make a person.
It doesn’t follow a timeline or plot but is more about the mood, smoothly moving through the characters’ past and checking into the present day in beats.
Laura, the protagonist, remained quite mysterious to me, shown through these moments in her life.
In points the feeling is lonely and cruel, others showing the strength of a long term friendship and the difficulty of reading people’s feelings.
There was also the strong sense of negative economic change in society - that a standard wage cannot buy a home, that an egotistical bigwig can take a top job they don’t care about, throw their weight around and crush a community.
I’ve read each of Gwendoline’s previous books and can’t wait to she what she does next.
Read
December 29, 2025*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*
The palm house follows Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam who have been friends for a long time. They spend time together in a pub by the Thames where they gossip. Putnam has changed, Laura finds it hard to reach him and the magazine he works for has a new editor and Putnam can’t stand him. Laura has her own problems but she must be there for Putnam.
I didn’t like this and to be completely honest I just don’t get this. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and this just felt like nothing to me. This isn’t my usual choice of book either and I only read this because I wanted something short and I got sent an eARC. This wasn’t bad book just not one that made any sense to me.
The palm house follows Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam who have been friends for a long time. They spend time together in a pub by the Thames where they gossip. Putnam has changed, Laura finds it hard to reach him and the magazine he works for has a new editor and Putnam can’t stand him. Laura has her own problems but she must be there for Putnam.
I didn’t like this and to be completely honest I just don’t get this. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and this just felt like nothing to me. This isn’t my usual choice of book either and I only read this because I wanted something short and I got sent an eARC. This wasn’t bad book just not one that made any sense to me.
January 7, 2026
‘As well as living had he not spent a good proportion of those years reading, thinking, watching films? Had none of that given him an inkling of how to face life? Some model for elegant survival?’
‘He lapsed too easily, for my taste, into anecdote, but that’s actors, I suppose’
‘It seemed to me that he’d just matched up two sets of circumstances. It was probably what he was wired to do. That look of absent concentration which he’s worn all night, it reminded me of the people you saw on the tube playing phone games: pairing up fruit or coloured shapes. I think he was doing something similar: I wanted to move, he had a room’
‘He lapsed too easily, for my taste, into anecdote, but that’s actors, I suppose’
‘It seemed to me that he’d just matched up two sets of circumstances. It was probably what he was wired to do. That look of absent concentration which he’s worn all night, it reminded me of the people you saw on the tube playing phone games: pairing up fruit or coloured shapes. I think he was doing something similar: I wanted to move, he had a room’
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is my first taste of Gwendoline Rlley and, despite the lack of a hard plot or storyline to the novel, I really enjoyed it.
Two forty-something Londoners, Laura and Putnam, have been friends for years. The contemporary story begins when Putnam loses his writer job at Sequence magazine. This is the springboard for a tale of friendship, with respective pasts and presents and ponderings about the future intertwining, like a commentary on midlife.
It's not a novel that goes anywhere much but the wit, matter-0f-fact descriptions and use of language make this a joy to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel.
Two forty-something Londoners, Laura and Putnam, have been friends for years. The contemporary story begins when Putnam loses his writer job at Sequence magazine. This is the springboard for a tale of friendship, with respective pasts and presents and ponderings about the future intertwining, like a commentary on midlife.
It's not a novel that goes anywhere much but the wit, matter-0f-fact descriptions and use of language make this a joy to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
An unusual and interesting title for this book. I'm taking it as a metaphor, the characters being the plants housed and cared for in the glasshouse, and the reader looking in.
I enjoyed reading the story, and completed it in one sitting. It throws up some interesting points which made me think about the character's lives, and ponder on where they would end up.
There was something real and atmospheric about the various settings, and the everyday life of Putnam and Laura seemed to present the mundane in an interesting and qualified way.
Not a deep, meaningful read, but an enjoyable trip into a contemporary story.
I enjoyed reading the story, and completed it in one sitting. It throws up some interesting points which made me think about the character's lives, and ponder on where they would end up.
There was something real and atmospheric about the various settings, and the everyday life of Putnam and Laura seemed to present the mundane in an interesting and qualified way.
Not a deep, meaningful read, but an enjoyable trip into a contemporary story.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley is a thoroughly relatable piece and a fantastic introduction to the work of Gwendoline Riley.
The story wraps around the friendship between Laura and Edmund as they traverse the highs and lows of daily life, punctuating the narrative with a sharp wit and warm humour that perfectly captures London life. Riley creates characters that I can empathise with and trials and tribulations that I can oh so relate to.
Thank you to Netgalley, Picador and the author Gwendoline Riley for this wonderful arc. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
The story wraps around the friendship between Laura and Edmund as they traverse the highs and lows of daily life, punctuating the narrative with a sharp wit and warm humour that perfectly captures London life. Riley creates characters that I can empathise with and trials and tribulations that I can oh so relate to.
Thank you to Netgalley, Picador and the author Gwendoline Riley for this wonderful arc. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
March 8, 2026
A nostalgic easy read that reminded me of Anita Brookner. The story is a short one that focuses on a group working at a magazine, Sequence. The narrator, Laura, spends time with Putnam, an older man who has just lost his father and left the magazine due to a new editor and his direction. She also reflects on her past, with disturbing teenage encounters with a creepy comedian and a later relationship with an eccentric actor.
The characters quietly go through life, adapting to situations and stoically dealing with what happens to them in their stride.
No hysteria, no drama, but an absolutely absorbing read and escape into someone else’s life.
Advance review via NetGalley
The characters quietly go through life, adapting to situations and stoically dealing with what happens to them in their stride.
No hysteria, no drama, but an absolutely absorbing read and escape into someone else’s life.
Advance review via NetGalley
March 12, 2026
This was my second Gwendoline Riley novel, and her latest proved to be a seamless reading experience. The narrative moves fluidly between past and present, offering observations on the current state of magazine and news culture alongside striking musings on the streets of London.
I didn’t underline a single passage in this book, not because it lacked insight, but because the experience was so immersive. You’re carried along by the prose, and before you know it, it’s over. You’ve simply been the fly on the wall of the protagonist’s life. Riley just has that kind of command over prose.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC
I didn’t underline a single passage in this book, not because it lacked insight, but because the experience was so immersive. You’re carried along by the prose, and before you know it, it’s over. You’ve simply been the fly on the wall of the protagonist’s life. Riley just has that kind of command over prose.
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC
January 23, 2026
Read it for the sentences because they are crisp, concise revelations of character and plot. That might make it sound too cool or detached but there is a wizardry at work in the writing which allows you to care and engage with the story and the characters. There is also something about this writer's work which presents a puzzle that keeps you reading. I really recommend reading Gwendoline Riley's books and this is an excellent place to start. I will miss Laura and Putnam for the rest of the week and will think of them from time to time.
Thanks to Netgalley for ARC.
Thanks to Netgalley for ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is one of those well written, interesting books where nothing happens but everything happens! It features Laura and her older friend Putnam, their friends, families and colleagues. There's not much more to say about the plot really but the writing is very good - the conversations and observations are particularly on point. While I would personally prefer a slightly more satisfactory conclusion or a longer book with more background and detail, I would still recommend this for the quality of the writing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It's perfectly fine - maybe the tale of people getting older and more cynical about their work is too close to home, as I thought, yes that's life, and...
After the chapter which related an unpleasant period in Laura's life I was waiting for this incident to be raised again, perhaps in some magazine expose - but no, it was just an interlude in her life. I do appreciate the beautiful writing and was grateful that it wasn't a massive tome as I would need a bit of plot if it were much longer.
After the chapter which related an unpleasant period in Laura's life I was waiting for this incident to be raised again, perhaps in some magazine expose - but no, it was just an interlude in her life. I do appreciate the beautiful writing and was grateful that it wasn't a massive tome as I would need a bit of plot if it were much longer.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This story was interesting and absorbing but didn't really appear to achieve anything. There were also some unpleasant but apparently otherwise irrelevant incidents in Laura's early life. The characters were interesting but not riveting.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 9, 2025
gwendoline riley cuts so close to the bone. utter excellence.
January 2, 2026
Beautiful writing. A slice of Laura’s life. Everyday, mundane and devestating.
I hope this gets on the Booker List when it is published.
I hope this gets on the Booker List when it is published.
March 10, 2026
This was the book equivalent of eating at a Michelin starred restaurant.
The few hours spent reading this is such a great experience from start to finish that you just have to admire what you have in front of you.
But beyond the sentence level I’m not sure what went into this book or what it was trying to say, but that didn’t feel like the point.
I will go back and read her back catalogue after this, and reread this in the future to better digest it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Picador for the arc
The few hours spent reading this is such a great experience from start to finish that you just have to admire what you have in front of you.
But beyond the sentence level I’m not sure what went into this book or what it was trying to say, but that didn’t feel like the point.
I will go back and read her back catalogue after this, and reread this in the future to better digest it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Picador for the arc
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