Prestige Drama

Hardback Published on: 07/05/2026
Price: £14.99
Free UK delivery on orders over £25, otherwise £2.99
In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Make and edit your lists in your account
Check click & collect stock near you
Collect today: Pay in shop
In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Check click & collect stock near you
Collect today: Pay in shop

Bookseller Reviews

View all
Prestige Drama
A new favourite
Coming from Northern Ireland I have read quite a lot of fiction involving the troubles however this felt like a breath of fresh air. Seamas O’reilly has wr... READ MORE
Tia  Dawson
Prestige Drama
There's craic in everything. That's how the light gets in.
Authentic, honest and heartfelt; The arrival of a production crew in Derry triggers a disparate collection of characters to reflect (or rant) about trauma,... READ MORE
Chris at Forestside

Synopsis

'BRILLIANT . . . GLORIOUSLY VIVID' GUARDIAN
'DISARMINGLY HILARIOUS' SUNDAY TIMES
'ROLLICKING . . . CAUSTIC, WITHERING AND GENUINELY FUNNY' INDEPENDENT
'FUNNY AND TRAGIC' TLS
'SUCH AN ENTERTAINING READ' DAILY MAIL
'BOISTEROUS' NEW YORK TIMES
'A COMEDY ABOUT TRAGEDY. BRUTAL, PROFOUND AND VERY FUNNY' NINA STIBBE

Derry is already abuzz with news that famous American actor, Monica Logue, has flown to the city and will be starring in a new series set during the Troubles. And then she goes missing . . .

All eyes are on Diarmuid, the flaky scriptwriter who was the last to see Monica alive. From budding young actors hoping for a role to grieving parent whose story forms the backbone of the narrative; newspaper editors covering the mystery to taxi drivers hearing all the news from their clients, Prestige Drama follows the city's cast as they all try to locate themselves in Monica's disappearance.

Séamas O'Reilly's debut novel is a comedy about dramatising tragedy, and the responsibilities of a teller to a tale. It brings to life the voices of a city, the people, families and communities who find themselves obsessed with, and terrified of, interrogating their past.

'VERY FUNNY . . . [O'REILLY] HAS A GIFT FOR CAPTURING STRANGE BEHAVIOUR AND THE COMEDY IN ALL OF OUR UGLY HUMANITY' OBSERVER

'SPARKLING WITH HEARTACHE AND WIT. I'M IN LOVE WITH EVERY CHARACTER' CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE

'BRISTINGLY FUNNY, RICHLY HUMANE. SÉAMAS O'REILLY HAS A RARE AND VITAL COMIC GIFT' MARK O'CONNELL

'I HOWLED WITH LAUGHTER. SÉAMAS IS A NATURAL STORYTELLER' ANNIE MAC

'A HILARIOUS AND PROFOUND NOVEL' ED CAESAR

'NOBODY ELSE COULD WRITE A BOOK LIKE THIS ABOUT TRAGEDY, LOSS AND WHO GETS TO TELL A STORY, WITH SUCH DEFT AND MOVING WIT' EVA WISEMAN

'O'REILLY IS A STARTINGLY PERCEPTIVE WRITER' SPECTATOR

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
  • ISBN: 9780349727899
  • Number of pages: 192
  • Dimensions: 212 x 138 x 20 mm
  • Weight: 320g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

View all
Prestige Drama
Smart and Funny
Diarmuid is a struggling playwright who, after several failed plays has managed to create a screen play about the Troubles in Northern Ireland which the te... READ MORE
Katy Wheatley
Prestige Drama
Ireland and a missing actress
I love a debut novel, that excitement of discovering a new author and I have to see, I loved Prestige Drama. Set in Northern Ireland, a famous actress dis... READ MORE
Amanda Duncan
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Prestige Drama
a fine debut
The journalist and non-fiction writer Seamas O'Reilly's debut novel, Prestige Drama, is a look at the Troubles and their legacy in Northern Ireland through... READ MORE
Ben Dutton
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Prestige Drama
Excellent
Diarmuid has written a screenplay about the troubles, it is going to be filmed in the city of its setting, Derry. The story is told from different people’s... READ MORE
K MacLean