The Wreck with Lizzy Stewart
Wed 22 Apr 2026
7:00pm at Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, 14-15 John St, Bath, BA1 2JL
All tickets include 15% off any books purchased on the night, a glass of wine or soft drink, author talk, Q&A and signing.
Other ways to book:
Email books@mrbsemporium.com, call 01225 331155 or pop into the shop at 14-15 John Street, Bath. BA1 2JL.
Author and illustrator Lizzy Stewart joins us for her genre-defying new novel, The Wreck.
Already our Events Manager Emma’s favourite book of 2026, The Wreck follows two couples who pursue their dream of communal living in the English countryside – an almost utopian idyll – until it all comes tumbling down.
It’s a novel about class, ambition, creativity, friendship and love, all told through a unique blend of text and illustration, making for a reading experience like no other. When you read as many books as we do, it’s not often you find something so truly special and original, and we think this is one novel that needs to be on everyone’s radar for 2026!
Can’t make it to the event? Order a signed & dedicated copy here.
About the book:
Charlotte and Francesca were best friends at university in the mid-1970s. But tensions coursed beneath their natural affection, deepening when Fran got together with Charlotte’s friend Adrian, and the two women drifted apart.
When Fran contacts Charlotte out of the blue with an unusual proposal – an invitation to live with her and Adrian in the rambling house they’ve bought in the countryside – Charlotte impulsively persuades her partner, Bill, to accept this tantalising promise of a new kind of community.
At first their new life feels utopian; life and space are shared joyfully. But it doesn’t take long for old tensions to rise to the surface, shattering their illusions and showing each of them in a new light.
The Wreck is a glorious genre-defying illustrated novel about the messy tangle of love, envy and desire that underpins our most precious relationships, and the difficult paths we must take to discover our true selves.
“Satisfyingly detailed and juicy… an utter treat.”– Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun.
“The Wreck is incredibly intimate and domestic but also astonishingly universal.” – Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground.
About the author: Lizzy Stewart is an author based in London. She writes and illustrates books for both children and adults. In 2017 her picture book There’s a Tiger in the Garden won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and a World Illustration Award. Her debut full-length novel Alison was published in 2022. She teaches Illustration at Goldsmiths, University of London and has also taught courses at the Tate and on behalf of the National Gallery.