Almost English
$29.99
‘The multi award-winning Charlotte Mendelson is famous for whipping up the hottest, messiest family dramas a writer of literary fiction can . . . This is late Shakespeare meets Modern Family and it’s irresistible’ – The Times
In a tiny flat in West London, sixteen-year-old Marina lives with her emotionally delicate mother and three ancient Hungarian relatives. Imprisoned by her family’s crushing expectations and their traditions, she knows she must escape.
At Combe Abbey, a traditional English private boarding school in the Dorset countryside, Marina realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. Here, among the boathouses, chapel services and unspoken social hierarchy, she is the awkward half-foreign girl who doesn’t know how to fit in, flirt, or even exist.
Meanwhile, her mother has her own painful secrets to deal with – especially the surprising return of the very last man she’d expect to see. And Marina’s disastrous spiral at Combe Abbey is going unnoticed . . .
‘A deliciously funny tale of dysfunctional families. . . Reading Mendelson’s easy, assured prose is like sinking into something soft and velvety’ – Telegraph
‘I read and adored Almost English . . . and now I will read everything she’s ever written. Charlotte Mendelson is a fiendishly gifted writer’ – Marian Keyes
LICENSING AGREEMENT
Pan Macmillan acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to lands, waters and communities.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. We honour more than sixty thousand years of storytelling, art and culture.
© Pan Macmillan Australia 2025