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The Favourite

Author Fran Littlewood
Narrator Fiona Button
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Publish Date 12 June 2025
Run Time 10 hours and 37 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Family life fiction, Humorous fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Interior life, Narrative theme: Love and relationships.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

The unmissable new novel from Fran Littlewood, the New York Times bestselling author of Read With Jenna pick Amazing Grace Adams: a story of three grown sisters, whose father - in a moment of crisis - accidentally lets slip that he has a favourite daughter…

A STYLIST MUST-READ BOOK OF 2025
A SUNDAY TIMES "STUFF EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT" PICK

Nothing derails a family holiday like your dad revealing he has a favourite child.

Alex, Nancy and Eva Fisher. Three grown-up sisters; each wonderful and imperfect in their own individual ways. And loved equally by their parents, Vivienne and Patrick.

Or so they thought.

Right up to the moment when, during a family party, Patrick inadvertently lets slip that he has a favourite. While they try to gloss over it, this sets in motion the unravelling of everything the sisters thought they knew. As their past is re-written, secrets and lies are uncovered, and the Fisher clan implodes in a way they could never have dreamed possible.

But will it take falling apart to bring them closer together?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams comes a witty, tender portrait of a family’s highs and lows over the years, examining how all siblings are equal – but some are more equal than others.

'FABULOUS . . . God, I wish I had written it. Funny, dark, fascinating and UTTERLY convincing. On my QWJ (Queasy With Jealousy) Scale, I award it 16/10.'
MARIAN KEYES
'Once I picked up The Favourite, I did not want to put it down until the last page was turned.'
LOTTIE HAZELL, author of Piglet
‘Wonderful and very funny. You're in for such a treat.’
GEORGINA MOORE, author of The Garnett Girls
'So sharp, funny, pacey and incredibly well-observed. I loved it.'
REBECCA WAIT, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way
'Fabulous - funny and brilliantly claustrophobic on family dynamics.'
LAUREN BRAVO, author of Preloved
'Fran Littlewood has the incredible ability to write like she's been observing you and your family for years.'
ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS, author of The Three of Us
'Sizzles with familial tension . . . Heartbreaking, candid and witty.'
JUSTIN MYERS
'Brilliantly funny, dark, insightful, wildly satisfying.'
NATASHA POLISZCZUK
'Has a cinematic quality . . . Every moment feels alive. Full of tender moments and thoughtful insights, The Favourite will be a favourite of readers, perfect with those with imperfect families - which is to say, all of us.'
SHELF AWARENESS

© Fran Littlewood 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

Now and again I read a book which is so FABULOUS I get queasy with jealousy. This is one such book. God, I wish I had written it. Funny, dark, fascinating and utterly UTTERLY convincing. On my QWJ (Queasy With Jealousy) Scale, I award it 16/10.

Marian Keyes

Fran writes like a wilder, more breathless Claire Lombardo . . . A huge talent. Set over the course of a family reunion that goes very wrong, THE FAVOURITE is a layered, textured story about the reverberations of the past and secrets in a family, and a psychologically astute look at love and relationships. Itu2019s wonderful and very funny. Youu2019re in for such a treat. I LOVED it.

Georgina Moore, author of The Garnett Girls

Fran Littlewood is an expert chronicler of family dynamics, and particularly the complex, competitive, and sparkling nature of sisterhood. Once I picked up THE FAVOURITE, I did not want to put it down until the last page was turned

Lottie Hazell, author of Piglet

So sharp, funny and pacey, and incredibly well-observed, especially when it comes to the small but treacherous undercurrents that run beneath the family. I loved it.

Rebecca Wait, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way

THE FAVOURITE is an absolute knockout - ferociously observed, fantastically funny and deeply relatable. I could not stop reading this dark-edged, pacy, moving novel and was consumed with thoughts about the characters whenever it wasnu2019t in my hands. Sensationally good

Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call

Thereu2019s to be no Difficult Second Album Syndrome for Fran Littlewood. The Favourite starts with a (literally) cracking premise, and gets messier and more mysterious from there. It is darkly funny, keenly observed, and full of poignant, vivid images.

Tim Minchin

Fran Littlewood has that incredible ability to write minute family dynamics with such insane accuracy and wit that it feels like sheu2019s been observing you and your family for years. Itu2019s the incisive level of detail she holds that makes The Favourite such a brilliant read with a concept that is both relatable and hilariously messy. This is a novel that captures the big and little things about siblings and family life that create the beautiful and fractured thing we call family. Youu2019ll want to pass this book onto your siblings and your parents, but be warned!!

Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us

The Favourite is fabulous - sharp and funny and brilliantly claustrophobic on family dynamics and the way everyone is the main character and unreliable narrator of their own lives.

Lauren Bravo, author of Preloved

The Favourite sizzles with familial tension that keeps the pages turning. A heartbreaking, candid, and witty take on family and their determination to f**k us up at every level possible. I loved it

Justin Myers (AKA The Guyliner), author of The Fake Up

A brilliantly funny, dark, insightful, wildly satisfying story of family secrets and sisterly dynamics.

Natasha Poliszczuk

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