Once in a House on Fire
04 September 2025Synopsis
A lauded contemporary classic of the memoir form: devastatingly powerful, moving and uplifting.
Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award
'Strong and admirable' – Hilary Mantel
'Full of energy' – Blake Morrison
When our stepfather staggered home reeking of whisky, ceramic hit the wall. We got used to the smash and the next-day stain, but eventually the wallpaper began to fade . . .
For Andrea Ashworth, home is not a place of comfort and solace, but of violence and fear. Her father died when she was five, leaving her close-knit, loving family to battle with poverty, abuse and the long shadow of depression. But from the ashes of 1970s Manchester and the hardships of her coming-of-age in the late 1980s, Andrea finds the courage to rise . . .
Written with eye-opening honesty, rare beauty and intense power, Once in a House on Fire is a ground-breaking memoir, endearing in its humour and compassion, and life-affirming in its portrait of terrible circumstances triumphantly overcome.
'Enchanting and thrilling . . . extremely moving . . . and gratifyingly, very funny' – The Times
Details
04 September 2025
9781035065264Reviews
It is strong and admirable; not a long book, but the reader lives a year or two in the tellingHilary Mantel
Enchanting and thrilling . . . As a chronicle of northern working-class life in the seventies and eighties . . . it would be hard to better this book. It is extremely moving . . . It is also at time surprisingly, and gratifyingly, very funnyThe Times
Full of energy, wit and a child's wide-open gaze . . . Andrea Ashworth escaped the fire to write a remarkable bookBlake Morrison, Independent on Sunday
One of the most extraordinary stories you will ever read of the triumph of the human spiritDaily Mail
