Books by Marian Keyes
Saved By Cake
by Marian Keyes
The Irish novelist commingles memoir and baking advice in this disarmingly honest cookbook, which relates her struggles with depression and the solace she has found in the kitchen. "Medically speaking, there is no such thing as a nervous breakdown," she writes. "Which is very annoying to discover when you're right in the middle of one... I had to find ways of passing the time until I was restored to myself again. So I baked a cake—a chocolate cheesecake, as it happens. And I enjoyed making it so much that I baked another. And another."
Further Under the Duvet
by Marian Keyes
The third volume of Marian Keyes' journalistic writing (after the hit collections Under the Duvet and Cracks in my Foundations, later republished as a single volume). Heartfelt and hilarious stories that will make you feel like you've popped over to Marian's for tea, biscuits, and a bit of a gossip.
Making It Up As I Go Along
by Marian Keyes
Another hilarious collection of essays from the bestselling novelist (and now memoirist), first published in 2016. As The Sunday Times declared, "Keyes manages to verbalize the most mundane of universal experiences and somehow make them funny." A book to dip in and out of.
Under the Duvet
by Marian Keyes
This collection of Marian Keyes' journalistic writing brings the first two volumes of her bestselling essays on shopping, friendship and family, featuring her long-suffering husband Himself and other Keyesian characters from the writer's (real) extended universe. Observational humour and personal reflections that will make you nostalgic for the early 2000s, when much of the content was first published in the Irish Tatler.
Grown Ups
by Marian Keyes
Yet another absorbing family drama from the bestselling author of Rachel's Holiday and Anybody Out There. Three husbands and their wives have been bumping happily along—but a bout truth-telling at a family gathering brings a sudden end to peace. This doorstopper of a novel was hailed on publication in 2020 as one of Keyes' best: she brings, raved The Guardian, "an almost Austenesque insight" into modern society. "A mature piece of work by an accomplished writer who knows how to make serious issues relatable – and get a few grownup laughs, too."
The Break
by Marian Keyes
When does a break become a break-up? When Amy's husband jets off to southeast Asia without her, she's left to puzzle over what remains of her relationship. But if Hugh's taking a hiatus from their marriage, maybe she can too—and find herself again, along the way. This uplifting 2017 novel displays Marian Keyes at her snappy, sardonic best. Perfect for binge-reading at the beach.
The Woman Who Stole My Life
by Marian Keyes
Irish beautician Stella is busy living a normal life, until a car crash sets off a cascade of unfortunate events and she finds herself confined to a hospital bed, trapped in a badly misbehaving body. Intriguingly structured—flashing back and forth in time—Keyes' well-received 2014 novel offers insight into the experience of a rare disease, and the glare of publicity that followed Stella's recovery.
The Brightest Star in the Sky
by Marian Keyes
One of Marian Keyes' stranger books. In The Brightest Star in the Sky, a mysterious spirit watches over the residents of 66 Star Street, a block of flats in Dublin, as they live out their complicated, interconnected lives. Expect an ensemble cast, supernatural elements, and enough drama and intrigue to pack out a 600-plus page novel.
This Charming Man
by Marian Keyes
Suave Irish politician Paddy de Courcey is getting married. Which is news to Lola, who thought she was his girlfriend. And to Grace, a dogged reporter dead-set on uncovering the truth about him, after he ruined her sister's life. This 2008 novel is one of Keyes' most hard-hitting, dealing with alcoholism and domestic violence—but her gift for affectionate mocking lifts what might otherwise be devastating subject matter. Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us meets Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary.
The Other Side of the Story
by Marian Keyes
Keyes brings her trademark wit and sly humour to this 2004 romantic comedy set in the publishing industry, in which an ambitious literary agent finds two of her best clients at war over a stolen boyfriend. Not one of Keyes' best—a lightweight read whose three-stranded plot feels only loosely intertwined, but entertaining neverthless. This back-list title will suit fans who've worked their way through her better-known novels and just can't get enough.
Sushi for Beginners
by Marian Keyes
A bit of comfort reading from the mega-bestselling Irish novelist Marian Keyes. Three smart women—Lisa, Ashling and Clodagh—wrestle with their personal and professional ambitions in this lightweight but nevertheless entertaining novel set around the offices of a women's magazine in Dublin. Think The Devil Wears Prada in an Irish accent: frothy, feel-good fun.
Last Chance Saloon
by Marian Keyes
Three Irish friends—Tara, Katherine and Fintan—have been living it up in London for years, and it's just beginning to occur to them that they might need to get serious about settling down. But when ill health suddenly rears its ugly head, they are all forced to reckon with what's truly important to them all. Marian Keyes' charming fourth novel found a wide audience on first publication in 1999.
Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
by Marian Keyes
In this early Marian Keyes standalone novel we meet Lucy: living out her fun but chaotic twenties in London. When a fortune teller forecasts her imminent nuptials, Lucy brushes it off—but then all the other predictions start coming true. Who is this mysterious husband? And what if Lucy is perfectly happy living a single life with her best friends for flatmates? A major hit on first publication in 1996.
Mammy Walsh's A-Z of the Walsh Family
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family: bonus e-book
A mini-book of bonus material for fans of Marian Keyes' Walsh family novels, written in the voice of Mammy Walsh. "Boys wreck your house and girls wreck your head," she writes. "And God knows it's the truest thing I've heard in a long time." A short but sweet pick-me-up if you find yourself with an hour or two to kill and a cosy spot to read in.
Angels
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #3
Sane, sensible Maggie Walsh has lived what she thinks of as a "blameless life"—but that all changes when she discovers her reliable husband Garv has been cheating on her. She drops everything and heads to Los Angeles and her best friend Emily, where she launches headlong into a life of parties and script-writing. Maybe there's more to Maggie than "plain yoghurt at room temperature"? Marian Keyes' Angels (2002) is an entertaining send-up of Hollywood production culture and an affectionate and relatable domestic drama.
Anybody Out There
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #4
A real tear-jerker. In the fourth book in the extremely popular series about the Walsh sisters, we accompany Anna through her biggest crisis yet. I won't spoil the plot for you, but keep a box of tissues handy. Of all the Walsh girls, Anna is perhaps the sister who changes the most between the beginning of the series and the end—and it is this book that captures the key moment in her evolution.
The Mystery of Mercy Close
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #5
Helen, the youngest of Marian Keyes' beloved Walsh sisters, finally gets her own novel. After a rocky start with employment she's finally found the career for her: as a private investigator. But business is slow. When she takes on a strange new case—the search for a missing pop star—she begins to understand the appeal of disappearing off the face of the earth. A darkly humorous story that explores depression and self-sabotage.
My Favourite Mistake
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #7
High flying PR executive Anna Walsh—fourth of the six Walsh sisters—returns to her native Ireland after abandoning her life and boyfriend in New York City. But her new job running the publicity for a high-end coastal retreat proves less straight-forward than she expected, and then she has the perimenopause to contend with. If you haven't read any Marian Keyes before, this might not be the right place to start; Anna has her first starring role in Keyes' Anybody Out There (2006) which offers important background.
Watermelon
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #1
Marian Keyes' 1995 debut Watermelon introduced the irrepressible Walsh sisters to the world—and launched Keyes' 35-million-copy-selling career. In Watermelon, we meet Claire just as her whole world falls apart: the day she gives birth to her first child, her husband announces that he's leaving her, and she's left to pick up the pieces alone. Or, not quite alone. At home in Dublin, her flawed but funny family pull together to help her—but only Claire can repair her own shattered self-esteem.
Again, Rachel
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #6
25 years after the publication of her million copy-selling rehab novel Rachel's Holiday, Marian Keyes revisits one of her best known fictional creations Rachel Walsh. Now sober, sensible, and holding down a successful job as an addiction counsellor, Rachel's steady world is rocked again by the reappearance of an old flame. With lashings of Keyes' trademark wit and snappy dialogue, Again, Rachel is a superlative romantic comedy that will break your heart. Comfort reading of the highest order.
The audiobook version is read by the author and features an exclusive Q&A with Irish talkshow host Graham Norton.
“This book had me right from the moment the protagonist, Rachel, opines that she can’t be an addict: ‘Surely drug addicts were thinner?’ She thinks rehab will be glamorous and filled with celebrities – instead it’s hard work. Addiction is a gritty subject, but the story of Rachel’s progress is told with such humour and reality that you devour the pages – and there are a lot of them.” Read more...
Sophie Kinsella, Novelist
Interviews where books by Marian Keyes were recommended
Marian Keyes’ Books, In Order
A new TV adaptation of Marian Keyes’ beloved book series about the Walsh family has brought a fresh flush of readers to the Irish author’s warm and funny domestic novels. We put together a list of Keyes’ full back catalogue to assist those searching for a new-to-them book to sink into the sofa with.
