The Safekeep

I realise I’m quite late to this party but, my god, what a book. It’s an incredible novel, delicate yet tough, and pitted with narrative landmines. It blew me away. I haven’t been as enthralled by a novel for a long time. I have immediately insisted that everyone I know reads it. – Maggie O’FarrellThe Safekeep seeped into my subconscious, took hold and stayed inside me even after I’d finished reading it. Breathtaking prose, febrile suspense and exceptional plot twist towards the end. So many wonderful novels out there, but this one really does stand out – Bernardine EvaristoSurprising, chilling, and electric. The Safekeep is a simply fantastic work of literature. – Alice Winn, bestselling author of IN MEMORIAMYael van der Wouden’s compelling , clever novel features several irresistible literary devices. A grand old house. A festering family secret. The shadow of the second world war. And plenty of erotic tension , bringing heat to a story that interrogates dark themes of antisemitism, displacement and inherited trauma…The thrill of Van der Wouden’s sly book is that it feels both juicy and deeply important * Observer *The Safekeep is a dream of a novel — mesmerizing and shockingly good — it lulls you with the lyrical beauty of its words and then slams you awake with its raw passion and rage. Part silent scream, part breathless love story – Miranda Cowley Heller, bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACEHaunting and exquisitely poignant – Claire FullerMoving, unnerving and deeply sexy – Tracy Chevalier, author of GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRINGThe story is resolved in such a bold and tender way that it becomes not merely clever, but indelible – New York TimesAn impressive debut; I already look forward to Van der Wouden’s next * Guardian *What a staggering book. Best thing I’ve read in quite a while – Patrick Radden Keefe

Yael van der Wouden was born in 1987 and lives and works in The Netherlands. The Safekeep, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024. It was also longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Wingate Prize, and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. She lectures in creative writing and comparative literature.