Picador lands 'magnificent' Wood novel set in Bauhaus art school

Picador has acquired a “magnificent” new novel by Naomi Wood set in Germany’s Bauhaus art school.

Publishing director Francesca Main acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown. The Hiding Game will be published on 11th July, coinciding with the centenary of the Bauhaus and supported by events and media activity. Hoffmann und Campe have acquired German rights, with further details expected in the lead-up to the London Book Fair. 

The synopsis states: “The Hiding Game opens in 1922, when Paul Beckermann arrives at the Bauhaus art school and is immediately seduced by both the charismatic teaching and his fellow students. Eccentric and alluring, the more time Paul spends with his new friends the closer they become, and the deeper he falls in love with the mesmerising Charlotte. But Paul is not the only one vying for her affections, and soon an insidious rivalry takes root. 

"As political tensions escalate in Germany, the Bauhaus finds itself under threat, and the group begins to disintegrate under the pressure of its own betrayals and love affairs. Decades later, in the wake of an unthinkable tragedy, Paul is haunted by a secret, and when an old friend from the Bauhaus resurfaces he must finally break his silence."

Wood’s previous two novels include the 2015 work Mrs. Hemingway (Picador), which won the British Library Writer's Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award. It was also shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club. Wood is a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of East Anglia and was chair of judges for the Goldsmiths Prize in 2017.

She said: “I've always been obsessed with the Bauhaus - its creativity, its culture, its craziness - and researching this novel has been a labour of love. I'm thrilled to be working with Francesca and the whole team at Picador once again.”

Main added: “I loved working with Naomi on Mrs. Hemingway and am thrilled to be publishing her magnificent new novel, which reads like The Secret History set in the intoxicating atmosphere of the Bauhaus. Beautifully written, powerful and suspenseful, this is a story about the dangerously fine line between love and obsession, set against the most turbulent era of our recent past.”