The Confession

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What to expect

A Sunday Times bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club pick.

The Confession is an absorbing tale of secrets and self-discovery and the search for truth spanning three decades, from 1980s Hollywood to present-day London. From Jessie Burton, the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse.

When Elise Morceau meets the writer Constance Holden, she quickly falls under her spell. Connie is sophisticated, bold and alluring – everything Elise feels she is not. She follows Connie to LA, but in this city of strange dreams and 1980s razzle-dazzle, Elise feels even more out of her depth and makes an impulsive decision that will change her life forever.

Three decades later in London, Rose Simmons is trying to uncover the story of her mother, who disappeared when she was a baby. Having learned that the last person to see her was a now reclusive novelist, Rose finds herself at the door of Constance Holden’s house in search of a confession . . .

'Dazzlingly good . . . Without doubt one of the best novels of recent years' - Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie

Critics Review

Dazzlingly good . . . Without doubt one of the best novels of recent years
Elizabeth Day, author of The Party and How to Fail
A bold, intelligent, wonderful novel
Sarah Winman, author of Tin Man
A beautiful novel and one that will stay with me for a very long time
Louise O’Neill, author of Only Ever Yours
Burton writes perceptively about female identity and creativity . . . stunning
Red
Her best yet, I’m dazzled by it . . . I am deeply jealous of every reader who has it all ahead of them
Daisy Buchanan, author of The Sisterhood
An absorbing tale of self-discovery
Woman & Home
An irresistible tale of families, deception and the consequences of our choices
Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars
A masterpiece about the autonomy of women and their roles in society
Irish Tatler
An absorbing, intelligent piece of storytelling that succeeds in sustaining its mystery to the end
Observer
Stylish and riveting, Burton's latest is every bit as gripping as The Miniaturist, the debut that made her name
Vogue
The story of the intoxicating relationship between two women, and its fallout
Sunday Times Culture
In The Confession, Jessie Burton hasn’t just captured a myriad of women’s experiences but also the intrinsic ambivalence of living in a female body: the advantages, the oppressions. She’s built a world of women that is so vivid and absorbing that at one point I paused in my reading to google Connie – and only then remembered that she was a fictional character
Jean Hannah Edelstein, author of This Really Isn’t About You
The story of three women: Elise, Constance and Rose, who are united by love, rejection and self-understanding. What elevates the story is Burton’s writing – like in The Miniaturist and The Muse – this is a book that’ll sweep you along and make you reflect on your own choices in life
Stylist
I loved Burton's debut, The Miniaturist, but this is even better! Rose's mother disappeared when she was a baby, and the last person to see her was Constance, a reclusive novelist based in Hampstead. When Rose tracks her down, will she get the answers she needs? I was completely engrossed
Nina Pottell, Prima
The Miniaturist author channels her talent for complex characters and absorbing mysteries into a new story about the connection between three women
Culture Whisper
A powerful and deeply moving novel about secrets and storytelling, motherhood and friendship, and how we lose and find ourselves
Sheerluxe

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 5.0
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5.0
ruthyalice 10/04/2025

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