‘Dark academia meets forbidden love’ in K. Patrick’s scintillating debut.

On this week’s Fully Booked podcast, K. Patrick discusses Mrs. S (Europa Editions, June 20), a sexy literary fiction set at an English boarding school, where a new faculty member—the matron—falls hard for the headmaster’s wife. Patrick, a British writer who lives on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, was recently named one of the Best Young British Novelists of 2023 by Granta. In a starred review, Kirkus calls their pitch-perfect debut “an erotic yet high-minded literary achievement.”

Here’s a bit more from our review of Mrs. S: “The novel follows the matron as she navigates her growing attraction to Mrs. S amid the politics of school administration and the complicated adolescent power dynamics of ‘The Girls,’ as she calls the students. The protagonist, identified only as ‘Miss,’ is drawn to Mrs. S from their first encounter, commenting, ‘I am discovered, I burn. Like her I stand my ground. Dare her to wave, to give that hand to me.’ Given the circumstances… their erotic relationship evolves slowly and behind closed doors.…As desire trumps vigilance, they increasingly risk exposure by colleagues, Mr. S, and even The Girls.…Patrick’s deft manipulation of narrative time and use of interior monologue to describe the tensions among thought, intention, and action recall the work of Virginia Woolf.”

Patrick shares their prepublication jitters with host Megan Labrise, who points out Mrs. S is receiving a lot of critical acclaim (which may or may not make it worse). Patrick then reads aloud from the novel’s opening passage, after which the pair discuss rhythm and pacing; the benefits of reading aloud; how the protagonist of Mrs. S comes into their own queerness in the course of the book; a bit about boarding schools and their staff; the inspiration for the “famous author” memorialized throughout this particular boarding school; sensuality in this setting; rules, regulations, and power plays; queer attraction; and much more.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, Eric Liebetrau, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

Editors’ picks:

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer (First Second)

Salat in Secretby Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illus. by Hatem Aly (Random House Studio)

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown)

Also mentioned on this episode:

Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal

Thanks to our sponsors:

Dark Magic from the Chronicles of the Underworld series, Vol. 1, by Raluca Narita

The Alchemist’s Portal by Kim Acco

The Devil You Knew by Mike Cobb

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.