FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST ELMET

Named One of the Most-Anticipated Books of 2021 by:

The Millions, BuzzFeed, The Stylist, The Guardian, and more

Release Date: April 20, 2021

About The Book:

In the middle of the bustle of London’s Soho, among the theaters and sex shops and pubs, sits a building. It isn’t particularly assuming. But it’s a prime piece of real estate, and a young millionaire, Agatha Howard, wants to convert it into luxury condos as soon as she can kick out all the tenants.

The problem is, the building in question houses a brothel, and Precious and Tabitha, two of the women who live and work there, are not going to go quietly. And another problem is, just where did Agatha’s fortune come from? The fight over this piece of property also draws in the men who visit, including Robert, a one-time member of a far-right group and enforcer for Agatha’s father; Jackie, a policewoman intent on making London a safer place for all women; Bastian, a rich and dissatisfied party boy who pines for an ex-girlfriend; and a collection of vagabonds and strays who occupy the basement. In this much-anticipated follow-up to Fiona Mozley’s brilliant debut, Elmet, as these characters—with surprising hidden connections and shadowy pasts—converge, the fight over the property boils over into a hot stew.

Entertaining, sharply funny, and dazzlingly accomplished, Hot Stew confronts questions about wealth and inheritance, gender and power, and the things women must do to survive in an unjust world.

About The Author:

Fiona Mozley grew up in York, England, and studied at Cambridge. After briefly working at a literary agency in London, she moved back to York to complete a PhD in medieval studies. She also has a weekend job at the Little Apple Bookshop in York. Her first novel, Elmet, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017.

Book Blurbs: 

“Mozley leaves the Yorkshire countryside of her Booker-shortlisted Elmet for the gritty streets of London in this lively contemporary Dickensian outing set in a Soho brothel… Mozley’s ambition and vision make this a worthy effort.”—Publishers Weekly

“[A] loose, witty, soapy story… An empathetic vision of place and people.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Fiona Mozley’s hypnotic debut, Elmet, was a standout novel of 2018. Her much-anticipated follow-up takes place in London’s Soho, where a young millionaire intent on converting an old building into luxury condos finds out the hard way that its tenants—specifically two sex workers whose brothel is based in the building—won’t leave without a fight.”—BuzzFeed, “75 Books To Add To Your 2021 TBR List”

“[An] absurdly good read . . . A rollicking tale of . . . property and posterity.”​—The Guardian, “Fiction to Look Out for in 2021”