Hutchinson captures Westover's ‘extraordinary’ Education

The story of a girl who did not step foot in a classroom until she was 17-years-old and went on to complete a doctorate at the University of Cambridge has been snapped up by Hutchinson.

Educated by Tara Westover was coveted by a number of publishers as last week’s pre-London Book Fair business began hotting up, with the memoir purchased by Hutchinson’s publishing director Jocasta Hamilton in a six-figure pre-empt within 24 hours of the submission being sent out. Hamilton acquired British and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown.

Westover, from the mountains of Idaho, was 17 years old when she first set foot in a classroom. Her father - a junkyard owner and devout Mormon- was obsessed with preparing for the end of the world, eschewing mainstream society, which meant his daughter had no birth certificate or medical records, and had never been to school.

Educated is the story of her discovery of education and its transformative power, culminating in her completion of a PhD in intellectual history at the University of Cambridge.

Westover, who now lives in London, said: “I wrote this story because it gets to the heart of what I believe an education is and what it offers: the ability to see one’s life through new eyes and the power to change it.”

Hamilton added: “This is the most extraordinary memoir and is destined to become a classic.”

Hutchinson, an imprint of Cornerstone, part of Penguin Random House, will publish in hardback in spring 2017 and as a Windmill paperback in 2018.