{"product_id":"the-uninvited-guests-a-novel-isbn-9780062116505","title":"The Uninvited Guests: A Novel","description":"A grand old manor house deep in the English countryside will open its doors to reveal the story of an unexpectedly dramatic day in the life of one eccentric, rather dysfunctional, and entirely unforgettable family. Set in the early years of the twentieth century, award-winning author Sadie Jones’s \u003cem\u003eThe Uninvited Guests\u003c\/em\u003e is, in the words of Jacqueline Winspear, the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/em\u003ebestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries \u003cem\u003eA Lesson in Secrets \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eElegy for Eddie\u003c\/em\u003e, “a sinister tragi-comedy of errors, in which the dark underbelly of human nature is revealed in true Shakespearean fashion.” | \u003cp\u003eOne late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday. But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor—and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cook toils over mock turtle soup and a chocolate cake covered with green sugar roses, which the hungry band of visitors is not invited to taste. But nothing, it seems, will go according to plan. As the passengers wearily search for rest, the house undergoes a strange transformation. One of their number (who is most definitely \u003cem\u003enot\u003c\/em\u003e a gentleman) makes it his business to join the birthday revels.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvening turns to stormy night, and a most unpleasant parlor game threatens to blow respectability to smithereens: Smudge Torrington, the wayward youngest daughter of the house, decides that this is the perfect moment for her Great Undertaking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Uninvited Guests\u003c\/em\u003e is the bewitching new novel from the critically acclaimed Sadie Jones. The prizewinning author triumphs in this frightening yet delicious drama of dark surprises—where social codes are uprooted and desire daringly trumps propriety—and all is alight with Edwardian wit and opulence.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“A remarkable dark comedy...Jones’s characters are delightfully eccentric, the wit delightfully droll, and the prose simply delightful. But for all its charm, this is a serious book…” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Enthralling…An English countryside setting, an ever-twisting plot, and gorgeously precise writing add up to one delightful novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMartha Stewart Whole Living Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The author’s command of period archness tips its hat to a pantheon of social satirists: Luis Buñuel in cahoots with Oscar Wilde and Jane Austen. Jones’s caustic takedown of 1-percenter exceptionalism arrives like a divine gift to occupying party poopers everywhere.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Delightful and unexpected…These well-imagined characters serve to raise stakes the reader cares about. They move beyond archetypes, becoming something unexpectedly rich and engaging.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRobin Vivimos, Denver Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“’Downton Abbey’ takes a turn for the supernatural in Sadie Jones’s stylishly eccentric comedy of manners THE UNINVITED GUESTS...Anglophiles who admire a biting sense of humor and a tinge of the Gothic, pull up a chair.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ms. Jones’s comedy of manners, which takes place over a single evening in 1912, gleefully exposes the family members’ snobbery… The author can’t resist harassing the Torringtons with the menace in the next room…” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…a delicious romp to read…Jones’ novel is as tightly constructed as one of those elaborate corsets that the Crawley women squeeze into to sashay around the drawing rooms at Downton.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaureen Corrigan, NPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An enchanted new novel…[with] the sly, subversive dexterity of a Mozart opera or Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A delightful, eerie novel…Jones expertly balances the whimsical and the strange, building things to a climax of abandon, terror and restitution…Engrossing, enjoyable.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePhilip Womack, Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Excellent characterization…a plot sprinkled with hints of secrets to be revealed…a page-turning read that blurs the edges of the country house mystery.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Jones’ clever prose and bright tone heighten her characters and setting…she adroitly draws the layers of character that are exposed as shameful secrets come to light.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A comedy of manners that turns downright surreal…Jones’s effervescent writing keeps the course steady-even as her characters shed their civilized veneers.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEllen Shapiro, People Four Star Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Vividly atmospheric…niftily deceptive…a story of shattered snobbery, transformation of character and in the end a surprising and eerily beautiful portrait of compassion…A sublimely clever book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMary Pols, San Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Exhilaratingly strange and darkly funny…veers off in a wildly surprising direction, and the way it plays out is delightful, sexy, moving-even profound…Will haunt you-but happily.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What opens as an amusing Edwardian country house tale soon becomes a sinister tragi-comedy of errors…in true Shakespearean fashion. Sadie Jones is a most talented and imaginative storyteller.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJacqueline Winspear, New York Times Bestselling Author of ELEGY FOR EDDIE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…THE UNINVITED GUESTS…defied my expectations. I saw none of it coming. I read it in one breathless sitting, and finished wanting to give it to everyone I know.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaile Meloy, Nationally Bestselling Author of BOTH WAYS IS THE ONLY WAY I WANT IT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What a delicious read! Like something written by a wicked Jane Austen,…I was captivated by its madcap nature and then, unprepared for the strange fruit that the story became.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSarah Blake, New York Times Bestselling Author of THE POSTMISTRESS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Delicious…comparisons with Downton Abbey will be both inevitable and fair.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Entertaining…Jones is a writer of admirable narrative energy…with a painfully accurate, almost Stoppardian ear for dialogue and a delightful streak of cruelty that flirts with…the gothic.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLev Grossman, Time Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What opens as an amusing Edwardian country house tale soon becomes a sinister tragi-comedy of errors, in which the dark underbelly of human nature is revealed in true Shakespearean fashion. Sadie Jones is a most talented and imaginative storyteller, and \u003cem\u003eThe Uninvited Guests\u003c\/em\u003e a very clever novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJacqueline Winspear, New York Times Bestselling author of ELEGY FOR EDDIE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Uninvited Guests\u003c\/em\u003e is at once a shimmering comedy of manners and disturbing commentary on class. It is so well-written, so intricately plotted, that every page delivers some new astonishment. It is a brilliant novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnn Patchett, author of State of Wonder\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What a delicious read! Like something written by a wicked Jane Austen, here is love and error in a ramshackle manor house complete with railway survivors, a birthday party and a pony. I was completely captivated by its madcap nature and then, utterly unprepared for the strange fruit that the story became. Passing like a spring fever, here is a fairy tale that stays with you long after it is gone. I couldn’t put it down.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSarah Blake, New York Times Bestselling author of THE POSTMISTRESS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889189941477,"sku":"NP9780062116505","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062116505.jpg?v=1730230714","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-uninvited-guests-a-novel-isbn-9780062116505","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}