The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club Pick

'Jangly with secrets' Sunday Times

'Funny, inventive, surprisingly moving' Guardian

'Royal Tenenbaums-style saga of dysfunctional family' The Times

When Arthur Hayman, author of The Hayseed Chronicles, dies, a bizarre chain of events makes his series of children’s novels world-famous. But buried deep inside the books lie secrets that begin to shake Arthur’s family – his son, Luke, reluctantly immortalized as the young hero; his daughter, Rachel, for whom the books are a hole through which her life has fallen; and his enigmatic wife, Martha, who knows that secrets are best kept well-hidden.

And at the heart of The Hayseed Chronicles is the mysterious Mr Toppit, who will let none of the Haymans out of his grasp…

A darkly comic story of a family shaped by their father’s literary legacy, exploring fame, fandom and long-buried secrets