Catherine Chidgey at the Constant Reader

Join us to hear award-winning New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey discuss her brand new book The Starving Bride.

6.15pm for 6.30pm start. Wine and nibbles will be served.

About the book

Provocative and utterly gripping, The Starving Bride is a razor-sharp exploration of beauty, shame, the impacts of ignoring the warning signs of catastrophe and the dangerous allure of spectacle in a world that can’t look away.

England, the near future.

Dumped by her boyfriend, fired from her job and estranged from her parents, Hazel Whitlock signs up for a sideshow act in Blackpool. The seaside resort has revived all the cancelled old favourites and she will be the Starving Bride.

On display in the iconic Blackpool Tower, with a ravenous lion prowling the enclosure, Hazel must lie in silence while spectators view her.

As the days tick down, thousands are captivated by Hazel’s transformation. Some are inspired. Some are obsessed. And some are watching far more closely than they should be.

Hazel’s old friend Gilda becomes increasingly worried for her welfare. Councillor Frank Marsh, meanwhile, investigating the stability of the Tower, is alarmed at his findings, but his concerns are ignored.

As the spectacle spirals and the world outside grows increasingly unstable, Hazel must confront the truth: how far is she willing to go to be seen?

About the author

Catherine Chidgey is a multiple award-winner whose novels have achieved international acclaim. The Axeman’s Carnival was a number one bestseller in her native New Zealand, as was her previous novel Pet. Remote Sympathy was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Catherine Chidgey lives in Ngāruawāhia and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.