The Editor

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Pub Date 04 Apr 2019 | Archive Date 01 Apr 2022

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Description

A poignant, highly original novel about an author whose relationship with his very famous book editor will change him forever…

‘Told with warmth and humour – the story of a mother-son reconciliation, facilitated by a most unlikely fairy godmother…delightful’ Chloe Benjamin, author of The Immortalists

After years of struggling as a writer in 1990s New York City, James Smale finally gets his big break when his novel sells to an editor at a major publishing house:none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie, or Mrs. Onassis as she's known in the office, loves James's candidly autobiographical novel, about his own dysfunctional family.

As Jackie and James develop an unexpected friendship, she pushes him to write an authentic ending, encouraging him to confront the truth about his relationship with his mother. But when a long-held family secret is revealed, he realises his editor may have had a larger plan that goes beyond the page…

A poignant, highly original novel about an author whose relationship with his very famous book editor will change him forever…

‘Told with warmth and humour – the story of a mother-son reconciliation...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9780008333256
PRICE £3.99 (GBP)
PAGES 400

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Average rating from 48 members


Featured Reviews

4.5 stars but rounded up.
This book blends fact and fiction by having a real, and very famous, main character. I am not over familiar with the life and times of Mrs Onassis so I can't really speak to the realism of her part in this book but, that aside, it was for me a thoroughly satisfying read.
We follow James Smale as he struggles to get his book published. He finally manages to sell his work to a publishing house and has a meeting set up with his new editor. When she walks into the room, well, let's just say that his jaw drops and he is a bit awestruck as he recognises her as Jackie O, former First Lady and all the rest of her impressive resume. After getting over the initial shock of her not only reading his book, but enjoying it enough to want it published, the two of them start work. Mostly on the ending. But, as the book is a bit autobiographical, and the MC is Smale's mother, and they are a bit on the estranged side with a tangled history, it all becomes a bit of a soul searching exercise for Smale as, to satisfy Jackie and get the book out, he needs to revisit his past and sort out his present, and indeed relationship with his mother, in order to get that elusive ending.
I do love a wounded character and we get that in James. He came across to me as very real in the things he said and did, both with Jackie and his family, including boyfriend Daniel. There's so much I would like to say about what happens along the way in James' soul searching but I think most of it is best discovered at the right time and with the right information background and I wouldn't like to spoil anything for anyone. I will just say that there are some really wonderful "normal" moments in the book for James and Jackie. Despite him being a lowly first time author and her being the former First Lady and all that comes with that responsibility. The way that the two of them work, with Jackie nudging James into making some decisions in order for them to both be satisfied with the results in his writing.
Obviously with a book of this genre, I rode the whole gamut of emotions. There were some really funny and touching moments interspersed throughout the narrative which kept the book from getting too dark. The ending was as it should be and, had I had more prior knowledge, I would have expected it but I think on this occasion that my ignorance helped me enable it to be more powerful.
All in all, a thoroughly satisfying read that I devoured in just a couple of sittings, only breaking for sleep and work! I enjoyed it so much that I now have Lily and the Octopus sitting on my TBR, waiting patiently for a reading slot!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

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A fascinating look at the world of writers and editors, and a conjecture of what it might have been like to have the famous Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as one’s editor. I enjoyed the drama of the writer finding his story, and how Mrs Onassis brought it out of him. I felt, however, that the scenes of a sexual nature could have been left out of the book without spoiling the overall narrative.

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The Editor is a bittersweet novel about a writer working through his relationship with his mother whilst completing his first book with a very famous editor. James is a struggling writer who lives in NYC with his boyfriend. When he gets a call that an editor wants his novel, he doesn't expect it to be Jackie Kennedy—Mrs Onassis—or that this will spark off not only a chance to work on his autobiography novel about his family, but face up to his mother and discover a long-kept secret.

Written in a similar charming style to Rowley's Lily and the Octopus (and with a similarly hapless narrator), this is an engrossing and funny novel that doesn't feel as self-indulgent as some books about writers can. Instead, it focuses on how sometimes you need an outsider to push you towards familial reconciliation, and how an unexpected connection with someone so famous could affect you on a personal level. James is a likeable yet flawed narrator, sometimes self-obsessed and always unable to take compliments, and Rowley's fictionalised version of Jackie Kennedy Onassis near the end of her life is an interesting portrait (particularly as someone who knew nothing about her real publishing career).

The Editor is a charming book that shows how famous figures can be inserted into a fictional narrative in a stylish and purposeful way. Fans of Rowley's first novel will enjoy it, as well as anyone interested in funny yet emotional looks at mother-child relationships.

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Modern American literature isn’t always a favourite of mine. There is such a difference in tone between a European author writing on a subject and that of their American counterpart. I’m very pleased to say that Rowley has crafted a modern American novel of significance with a pathos and circumspection that is so often missing in the books of his peers. The Editor is a book that made me laugh, it made me think and then ultimately made me cry.

James Smale has been a struggling author in 1990’s New York. Deciding to write about something that he knows, James has put together the bones of a book about his Catholic mother and his agent has managed to sell the idea to a publishing house.

When James is introduced to his new Editor he is shocked to discover that it is none other than Jackie Kennedy Onassis or Mrs Onassis as she is known in the office. This book explores James’s relationship with his Editor as she pushes him to complete his debut novel about his dysfunctional family.

Beautifully observed, the story follows the struggles that James has in coming to terms with the truth about his mother and their family and then the battle to retain a relationship with her after he has aired all of the family’s dirty laundry in public.

Ultimately this is a story about relationships, both the forbidden trysts and the sanctioned and familiar bonds of love and family. Of acceptance and support; fear and loneliness. The Editor is a modern tale that will not fail to affect you.

Although this is a work of fiction it is also a very respectful homage to a former First Lady and one of the most prominent figures in twentieth century America.

Supplied by Net Galley and The Borough Press in exchange for an honest review.

UK Publication Date: Apr 4 2019. 320 pages.

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This is a lovely little book about a struggling writer who finally gets a publishing deal and one very surprising editor. I laughed so much throughout this book, and the friendship that develops between the two main characters is beautiful and heartwarming.

I adored Steven Rowley's first book, Lily and the Octopus (despite the emotional scars it left me with) and The Editor is certainly a worthy followup. I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

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After years of trying to make it as a writer in the 1990's New Tork Xity, James Smale finally sells his novel to an editor at a major publishing house : none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie -- or Mrs Onassis, as she's known in office -- has fallen in love with James's candidly autobiographical novel, one that expresses his own dysfunctional family. But when the books forthcoming publication threatens to unravel already fragile relationships, both within his family and his partner, James finds that he can't bring himself to finish the manuscript.

This book made me laugh out loud on several occasions with all the funny moments he writes about. The story is written post JFK and the author makes Jackie's personality jump off the pages. I'm sure many potential authors would do a double take if they walked into their publisher and out that she was Jackie Onassis. This is an entertaining mock memoir of a young author. It's an entertaining and original read. A really enjoyable story.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and the author Steven Rowley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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