Jessie Cave's debut novel goes to Welbeck

Welbeck Publishing Group has snapped up actor, comedian and memoirist Jessie Cave's debut novel. 

Fiction publisher Jon Elek bought world rights to Sunset from Millie Hoskins at United Agents. Publication is scheduled for Spring 2021. 

The "unconventional" love story follows sisters Ruth and Hannah and will appeal to fans of "Fleabag" and Dolly Alderton, said Welbeck. 

"Ruth and Hannah build each other up, and tear each other down. Even as polar opposites they make each other laugh more than anyone else in the world. Hannah is forever single, aimless and wild while Ruth is radiant, organised and hard working. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with," reads the synopsis. "But a summer holiday changes everything, and Hannah finds herself entering a long period of self-imposed exile from the world. Searching for anonymity and facelessness, she takes a job at Heathrow airport serving coffee to a slow-motion carousel of travellers, cabin crew, and taxi drivers. But when a face she recognises appears in the blur, she is forced to retrace her steps back to a time when her life had hope and meaning. A comedy about love, grief and reconciliation, Sunset is an ode to our most powerful bonds, how they build us and break us, and how, when all seems lost, we can find joy in the most unexpected places."

Cave said: "I have had this story in my head for a while, and always thought of it as a novel. As in my shows, I’m inspired both by my siblings and my deepest anxieties about them. Ruth and Hannah’s love is a complex and binding contract, the type that ties siblings, friends and families, and helps carve lifelong identities. I want to explore what happens when those bonds are tested. I am very pleased to have signed with Welbeck for my first novel, and I look forward to working closely with them."

Elek added: "Like everything Jessie writes it’s extremely funny right up until the point where she devastates you. It’s fundamentally a novel about the irreplaceability of sibling relationships, and why – despite all the angst and rivalry – they often matter more to you than anyone else. In that respect, I think fans of 'Fleabag', with its depiction of strained sisterhood, or Dolly Alderton’s memoir about female friendship, will find themselves at home in these pages."