Clare Mackintosh to make non-fiction debut in countryside memoir

Clare Mackintosh is making her non-fiction debut with a memoir about family life in the countryside: A Cotswold Family Life.

The book, publishing with Sphere in February, draws and builds on Mackintosh's eight years of writing as a columnist for the magazine Cotswold Life about the ups and downs of life with a young family in the countryside.

In the memoir, the psychological thriller writer will bring together all of the personal anecdotes she has written for the publication, and more, for the first time. "From keeping chickens to getting the WI drunk, longing for an Aga to dealing with nits, Clare opens the door to family life with warmth and humour and heart," the book's blurb reads.

Sharing both her personal journey to becoming a published author, which she admitted included stints of unpaid work, and news of the new title, the former police officer described the project as her "part observational, part memoir". Following on from her series of bestselling novels including I Let You Go (Sphere), Mackintosh said the title is her "first non-fiction foray".

Mackintosh will be donating her advance for the book to Silverstar, a charity for which she is a patron that helps mothers with medical complications during pregnancy. She explained: "Because I didn't write these columns for free, it didn't seem right to be paid twice for them, so my advance for this book is going to Silverstar, a charity without which I wouldn't have a family at all."

The book's jacket includes a silhouette of Mackintosh and her family on an idyllic day out.

Addressing her fans and followers on social media, Mackintosh said: "I've loved revisiting old columns and adding new stories. I hope you enjoy it too."

World rights were acquired from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown by Rhiannon Smith. Smith commented: "It’s been a delight to work with Clare to turn her wonderful columns into this memoir. I’ve long been a fan of her novels, and I know her readers will love the mix of nature writing and family stories told with warmth and humour in A Cotswold Family Life."

Sphere will publish in hardback, e-book and audio (read by the author) on 28th February 2019.