Patrick’s ‘sublime and sensual’ début snared by Fourth Estate

Fourth Estate has snapped up a “sublime and sensual” début novel by White Review Short Story Prize shortlisted writer K Patrick. 

Kishani Widyaratna, editorial director, acquired British Commonwealth rights, including Canada, for Mrs S and a second novel, Sid, in physical, e-book and audio from Angelique Tran Van Sang at Felicity Bryan. Mrs S will publish in summer 2023.  

The synopsis says: “In an elite English boarding school where the girls kiss the marble statue of the famous dead author who used to walk the halls, a butch antipodean outsider arrives to take up the antiquated role of ‘matron’. Within this landscape of immense privilege, where difference is met with hostility, the matron finds herself unsure of her role, her accent and her body. That is until she meets Mrs S, the headmaster’s wife, a woman who is her polar opposite, an assured, authoritative paragon of femininity. Over the course of a long, restless summer, their unspoken yearning blooms into an illicit affair of electric intensity. But, as the summer fades, a choice must be made.” 

Widyaratna said: “I was irresistibly drawn in by K Patrick’s seductive début novel of forbidden love that smoulders with the heat of summer. K’s exploration of the butch-queer experience through their protagonist is revelatory, boldly striking out across the contested terrain of our bodies, our desires and the constraints society places around both. Powerfully sensual, stylish and disarmingly wry, Mrs S will thrill fans of Garth Greenwell, André Aciman and Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt or Carol (Bloomsbury).” 

Patrick said: “I immediately felt the team at Fourth Estate had not only an exciting understanding of the book, but also of me as an author. I’ve also long admired Kishani’s work and feel proud to be part of her growing list. It’s a dream come true to have my novels alongside so many of my favourites at Fourth Estate.”