Lost for Words

Each of the judges of the Elysian Prize for literature has a reason for accepting the job. For the chairman, MP Malcolm Craig, it is backbench boredom, media personality Jo Cross is on the hunt for a 'relevant' novel, and Oxbridge academic Vanessa Shaw is determined to discover good writing. But for Penny Feather of the Foreign Office, it's all just getting in the way of writing her own thriller. Over the next few weeks they must read hundreds of submissions to find the best book of the year, and so the judges spar, cajole and bargain in order that their chosen title gets the recognition it deserves.Meanwhile, a host of authors are desperate for Elysian glory, including brilliant writer and serial heart-breaker Katherine Burns, lovelorn debut novelist Sam Black, and Sonny, convinced that his magnum opus, The Mulberry Elephant, will take the literary world by storm.Lost for Words is razor-sharp and fabulously entertaining. It cuts to the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our celebrity-obsessed culture, and asks how we can ever hope to recognise real talent when everyone has an agenda.

'The book is a riot, complete with belly-achingly hilarious pastiches of the bonkers novels that are sent in for the prize to consider.' -- Sunday Times
'Lost for Words is a long-overdue, laugh-out-loud satire on the whole business of literary prizes.' -- The Evening Standard
'[An] intricate satire, written with restless wit ... A gorgeous viciousness is present ... St Aubyn's ear for fakery never falters ... This novel is a pleasure to read.' -- The Observer
'This is a seriously entertaining and inventive novel by which I mean it is not serious at all but exceptionally entertaining and inventive. And seriously good. Edward St Aubyn is already considered the master of social satire ... With Lost for Words, he cements this reputation and, if anything, surpasses himself.' -- Sunday Express
'Anyone cynical about literary prizes will laugh out loud at Edward St Aubyn's delightful satire ... as his novel hilariously demonstrates, notions of what constitutes literary pedigree are as fickle as the wind ... What makes you smile, and smile and smile is the elegance of the writing. Seldom was so much pretentiousness skewered so stylishly.' -- The Mail on Sunday

Edward St Aubyn was born in London in 1960. His superbly acclaimed Melrose novels are Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope (previously published collectively as the Some Hope trilogy), Mother's Milk (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2006) and At Last. He is also the author of the novels A Clue to the Exit and On the Edge. Alex Jennings is an English actor who gives an outstanding performance, playing the Duke of Windsor in the Netflix series, The Crown (2016). Jennings began his career in regional repertory theatre, playing a range of roles including Robespierre in The Scarlet Pimpernel and his performance as Glournov in Too Clever by Half, for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1988. A three-time Olivier Award winner he is the only performer to have won Olivier awards in the drama, musical and comedy categories.

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