Daisy Waugh

LONGLISTED FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT AWARD 'Sharp, funny . . . the best sort of murder mystery' Tatler 'A perfect antidote to all the real-life craziness going on' Daily Mail Sir Ecgbert Tode of Tode Hall has survived to a grand old age - much to the despair of his younger wife, Emma. But at ninety-three he has, at last, shuffled off the mortal coil. Emma, Lady Tode, thoroughly fed up with being a dutiful Lady of the Manor, wants to leave the country to spend her remaining years in Capri. Unfortunately her three tiresome children are either unwilling or unable (too mad, too lefty or too happy in Australia) to take on management of their large and important home, so the mantle passes to a distant relative and his glamorous wife. Not long after the new owners take over, Lady Tode is found dead in the mausoleum. Accident? Or is there more going on behind the scenes of Tode Hall than an outsider would ever guess....? In the traditions of two great but very different British writers, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, Waugh's hilarious and entirely original twist on the country house murder mystery comes complete with stiff upper lips, even stiffer drinks, and any stiffs that might embarrass the family getting smartly brushed under the carpet... What everyone's saying about In the Crypt with a Candlestick... 'Deliciously entertaining' Andrew Wilson 'An irresistible champagne bubble of pleasure and laughter' Rachel Johnson 'A perfect antidote to wintry gloom' The Literary Review 'What a triumph!' Antonia Fraser 'A jolly farce that never takes itself too seriously' Red Magazine 'Fizzles, crackles and sparkles' Elizabeth Buchan 'A work of sublime silliness' Simon Brett 'An effervescent madcap whodunnit' Metro 'A marvellous rollicking read' Mary Killen

‘An irresistible champagne bubble of pleasure and laughter’ Rachel Johnson

In the Crypt with a Candlestick

Rich. Beautiful. Damned. Sumptuously evoking the Golden Age of Hollywood, a time when money is built on greed and love can be a trick of the light, Daisy Waugh's stunning new novel is a compelling portrait of love, fame, and survival.

Melting the Snow on Hester Street

She's left the rat race behind -- but taken her contacts book with her. Jo Smiley abandons her glamorous London lifestyle to decamp to a draughty manor house with her new husband, the divine Charlie. Happiness awaits: all they need is a plan to make it pay. Deep in the English countryside, Fiddleford makes an ideal refuge from the media. And as the first few paparazzi-battered guests arrive, Jo allows herself to hope. The house might be crumbling, the chef temperamental, but the Fiddleford magic never fails...apparently. But while for the guests, happiness might be a warm cow's nose and a ramble in the wild and beautiful gardens, the local council has other ideas. Suddenly Jo and Charlie's rural retreat looks shaky. Can they fend off the officials, save their dream and stay on their own path to happiness?

Ten Steps to Paradise

'Daisy Waugh's featherlight satires are as refreshing and uplifting as a glass of chilled vintage champagne. . . Imagine Agatha Christie on laughing gas' Times The Todes are back, and they're taking on Hollywood . . . When Hollywood wants to do a remake of the film that made Tode Hall famous, India and Egbert are delighted. They envisage a summer of free money and star-studded dinner parties ahead . . . But the Hall is soon overrun by wardrobe trucks and catering tents, and lusty, insecure actors squabbling about nudity clauses. When the movie's producers threaten to sue over the exact colour of Tode Hall's rolling lawns, India and Egbert realise that having a film crew on their doorstep isn't such a breeze after all. With so many egos in one place things were bound to end badly, but no one would have predicted quite so literal a backstabbing . . . 'A glorious satire on aristocratic manners and mores, with a smidgeon of murder thrown in, Waugh's hilarious and entirely original twist on the country house murder mystery is 'a perfect antidote to all the real-life craziness going on' Daily Mail Praise for the Todes 'Witty, well-written and determinedly entertaining . . . the perfect book for the staycation' Catholic Herald 'I couldn't put it down' Santa Montefiore 'A delightful treat' The Lady 'Deliciously entertaining' Andrew Wilson 'An irresistible champagne bubble of pleasure and laughter' Rachel Johnson 'A perfect antidote to wintry gloom' The Literary Review 'What a triumph!' Antonia Fraser 'A masterclass in how to write a rollicking good read' Sarah Vine 'A jolly farce that never takes itself too seriously' Red Magazine 'Fizzles, crackles and sparkles' Elizabeth Buchan 'A work of sublime silliness' Simon Brett 'An effervescent madcap whodunnit' Metro 'A marvellous rollicking read' Mary Killen 'She's skewered her targets brilliantly' Imogen Edwards-Jones 'This contemporary take on a golden age mystery is simply wonderful.' Belfast Telegraph

Phone for the Fish Knives

As Rudolph Valentino fights for his life, barricades keep the fans at bay. Adored by millions of women, but loved by only one...Will she be able to reach him in time? August 1916: Jenny Doyle sails to New York, where she works in a house rife with malice and madness. Only her friendship with dancer Rodolfo offers her a chance to escape... August 1926: Rodolfo has taken his place on the silver screen as Rudolph Valentino when a chance arises for him and Jenny to meet again. Will the world's most desired film star and his lost love have their Hollywood happy ending, or will they be thwarted yet again.

Last Dance with Valentino

Fresh air, rolling fields, Cath Kidston tea towels and home-baked cake - isn't that what Martha's new life will be? Apparently not. Having upped sticks and moved her young family from the gritty city to Paradise, she discovers things aren't quite that easy. Collapsing kitchen ceilings; a plague of slugs; coffee mornings with Stepford mums and garden warfare with the neighbours are just a few of the trials. And with her husband away working in London, Martha just can't stop thinking about the sexy builder who's meant to be turning the house into her dream home.

The desperate diary of a country housewife

A critique of modern motherhood argues that today's moms are enduring unprecedented high standards and trendy parenting guidelines that result in self-neglect without benefitting children, sharing reassuring advice on how to let go of guilt and embrace a more balanced parenting style. 40,000 first printing.

Guilt-Free Motherhood for Thoroughly Modern Women

The Kids Will Be Fine

A Small Town in Africa

RICH. BEAUTIFUL. DAMNED. OCTOBER 1929: AS AMERICA HELTERSKELTERS THROUGH THE LAST DAYS BEFORE THE GREAT CRASH, THE CREAM OF HOLLYWOOD PARTIES HEEDLESSLY ON. Society couple, Max and Eleanor, let the prohibition champagne flow as the glittering facade of their marriage teeters on the brink. As the stock market tumbles they have nowhere to fall but into the arms of their waiting lovers. Hope is delivered in an invitation to one of the absurdly glamorous and legendary house parties at Hearst Castle, the epitome of decadence. With gossip and glamour swirling, the time has come for Max and Eleanor to make a decision. Either they sacrifice everything for fame and fortune or they plunge into the past and grasp one last chance to love each other again. 'Brilliant, compelling and epic'—Daily Mail

'It is odd that the galvanised industry of women's literature should have passed by that most telling of female malaises, Anorexia Nervosa... Daisy Waugh breaks the silence with a resounding clatter of imaginative energy. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH MARY JANE? is far more than just a gruesome horror story with the moral "Don't slim" slung round its girth. It unites stringency with compassion and humour with social comment, in such a way that the reader not only gains a vivid insight into the insidious nature of this disease, but is treated to a mighty entertaining read in the process' Lucy Ingrams in The Literary Review A natural' Anne Haverty in The Times Literary Supplement 'Miss Waugh has perfect pitch and is hypersensitive to the silliness of the chatter of her London peer group at play...It suggests the rich potential of a whole new genre of light fictional psychopathology' Patrick Skene Catling in the Sunday Telegraph Achieving the right tone of voice for a book's narration is one of the hardest of the novelist's skills, and Daisy Waugh is to be congratulated on getting it dead right in her first novel' Punch

What Is The Matter With Mary Jane?

She’s left the rat race behind—but taken her contacts book with her You can take the girl out of the city—but can you take the city out of the girl? Jo Smiley abandons her glamorous London lifestyle to decamp to a draughty manor house with her new husband, Charlie. Happiness awaits: all they need is a plan to make it pay. Deep in the English countryside, Fiddleford makes an ideal refuge from the media for paparazzi-battered guests. The house might be crumbling, the chef temperamental, but the Fiddleford magic never fails...apparently. But others aren't quite so pleased with Fiddleford's new celebrity status... Suddenly Jo and Charlie's rural retreat looks shaky—and so does their relationship. Can they save their dream and stay on their own path to happiness?

Ten Steps to Happiness

A new start. With old secrets . . . Who hasn’t dreamed of running away from it all? The Haunt family have gone and clone it. On an impulse, Maude, her husband Horatio and their two small children have left their tiny London terrace for the sunflower fields and the vie rustique of Southern France. Up the road, the scruffy Hotel Marronnier is about to change hands again. Daffy Fielding has fallen in love with the place and has dragged her husband to France to persuade him to buy it. Which he does—before heading straight back home to his mistress. Can timid Daffy make a life for herself alone? Watching over all the new arrivals is the glamorous, predatory, eternally bored Lady Emma Rankin. From her exquisite chateau nearby, she pulls strings to bring the new wives together. But is it Horatio, rather than Maude, who she really wants to sip Sancerre with? Or is her eye on the gorgeous local builder, the only one of them all who is party to the Haunt family's explosive secret? Praise for Daisy Waugh: ‘Sparkling fun.’—Heat ‘Full of laugh-out-loud funny bits.’—New Woman

Daisy Waugh

About

Books

Join the club