Cape to publish Martin Amis autobiographical novel

Jonathan Cape will publish an autobiographical novel by Martin Amis later this year, with the book described as his "most intimate and epic work to date". 

Publishing director Michal Shavit acquired UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Inside Story from Andrew Wylie at The Wylie Agency for publication in September 2020.
 
"His most intimate and epic work to date, Inside Story is the unseen portrait of Martin Amis’ extraordinary life, as a man and a writer. This novel had its birth in a death – that of the author's closest friend, Christopher Hitchens. We also encounter the vibrant characters who have helped define Martin Amis, from his father Kingsley, to his hero Saul Bellow, from Philip Larkin to Iris Murdoch and Elizabeth Jane Howard, and to the person who captivated his twenties, the alluringly amoral Phoebe Phelps," reads the synopsis. 

"What begins as a thrilling tale of romantic entanglements, family and friendship, evolves into a tender, witty exploration of the hardest questions: how to live, how to grieve, and how to die? In his search for answers, Amis surveys the great horrors of the 20th century, and the still unfolding impact of the 9/11 attacks on the 21st – and what all this has taught him about how to be a writer," said the publisher. "The result is one of Amis’ greatest achievements: a love letter to life that is at once exuberant, meditative, heartbreaking and ebullient, to be savoured and cherished for many years to come."
 
Shavit said: "This extraordinary novel gives the reader the heart-to-heart testimony of one of our finest writers – a wonder of literary invention and a boisterous modern classic. We are incredibly proud to be publishing this book of a lifetime at Cape."