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Fiction & Poetry, Modern & Contemporary Fiction

The Benefactors

Wendy Erskine (author)

Hardback Published on: 19/06/2025

£18.99

15 reviews

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Bookseller Reviews

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Multi layered, thought provoking - what a debut!

A character driven story set in Northern Ireland with a young woman who has been sexually assaulted by three young men at its heart. Prepare to be grabbed ... READ MORE

Beth at Chesterfield

Great debut

I’m obsessed with this book. It’s a powerful, poignant, but often darkly funny, social commentary of misogyny, class, and privilege in today’s Northern Ire... READ MORE

Olivia at Telford

The type of book you're desperate to get back to!

Absolutely loved this incredible debut. Yes, some people have complained about too many "bystander voices" in the novel, but that really didn't bother me ... READ MORE

Kurde @Horsham

A Polyphonic Spree

After two excellent short story collections (Sweet Home and Dance Move), Irish author Wendy Erskine brings her formidable talents to this, her debut novel.... READ MORE

Jim - Foyles Stratford at London

Accomplished and topical

An accomplished debut which addresses the current topic of toxic culture among young men. Set in Northern Ireland Frankie,Miriam and Bronnagh are mothers o... READ MORE

Huw Chapman

Synopsis

In The Benefactors we meet Frankie, Miriam and Bronagh - very different women but all mothers to 18-year-old boys. Glamorous Frankie, now married to a wealthy, older man, grew up in care. Miriam has recently lost her beloved husband Kahlil in ambiguous circumstances. Bronagh, the CEO of a children's services charity, loves the celebrity and prestige this brings her.

They do not know each other yet, but when their sons are accused of sexually assaulting Misty Johnston, whose family lacks the wealth and social-standing of their own, they'll leverage all the power of their position to protect their children.

From the prize-winning author of Dance Move and Sweet Home, this is an astounding novel about intimate histories, class and money - and what being a parent means. Brutal, tender and rigorously intelligent, The Benefactors is a daring, polyphonic presentation of modern-day Northern Ireland. It is also very funny.

Publisher information

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781399741668
Number of pages: 336
Dimensions: 220 x 146 x 34 mm
Weight: 445g
Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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No benefit

The lives of three Belfast women intertwine - Frankie, a care home kid now living a life of luxury. Miriam, recently widowed and Bronagh a charity worker.... READ MORE

Kev McCready

Superb debut author from an actuary who has already mastered the short story form

In my review of Wendy Erskine’s debut short-story collection “Sweet Home” (2018), I tried to describe what I saw as her signature technique as “what is uns... READ MORE

Graham Fulcher

Enthralling read

The Benefactors is a story centered on three young men accused of sexually assaulting a girl Misty at a party in Belfast, and their well-to-do mothers' rea... READ MORE

Ciaran McLarnon

unnecessarily complicated

I found this book really difficult to engage with and unnecessarily complicated to read due to sudden changes of character perspective which were really ja... READ MORE

jean

Deserving of the praise!

Wendy Erskine’s ‘The Benefactors’ is getting a lot of praise, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s the kind of book that critics will say (probably have said... READ MORE

Owen McMahon

A richly textured novel which explores class, privilege and consent

Boogie had been only eighteen when their rackety mother left her two daughters with him but proved himself up to the task of raising them both, never disti... READ MORE

Susan Osborne

Moral Tale

Thank you to Sceptre/Hodder for the proof. Misty is a teenager drifting through life in Ireland,going on a site called Benefactor, chatting to random men.... READ MORE

ENEFCEE 1956

A cacophonous rollercoaster

In this multidimensional and heartbreaking novel, Erskine takes us on an emotional journey as three well-to-do mothers are forced to worry for their teenag... READ MORE

Huttson Lo

Longlisted for the Women's Fiction Prize 2026

The Benefactors was already on my radar before it was announced as part of the longlist for the Women's Fiction Prize 2026, but I had heard mixed reviews s... READ MORE

Fiona Sharp

Thought provoking

The Benefactors feels less like a traditional novel and more like a carefully constructed snapshot of life, fragmented, subjective, and deeply human. Th... READ MORE

Dez Roberts

The Benefactors

Bookseller Reviews

Synopsis

Publisher information

Customer Reviews

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