The Deed

Susannah Begbie

THE DEBUT NOVEL FROM THE 2021 RICHELL PRIZE WINNER

‘Now that’s the way to bury your old man…he sank into his Jason recliner, wincing, and put the telly on. A burial: a body wrapped in handwoven red cloth, and women dancing and wailing. Too much, in Tom’s opinion, but at least they were mourning. To hell with that, at least they showed up.’

Tom Edwards is dying, and cranky. He’s made his peace with the dying part, but he’d bet his property, Ellersley – the whole ten thousand acres of it – that there’d be no wailing at his burial. His kids couldn’t get it together to chop down a tree, let alone build a coffin to bury him in. And then Tom has an idea…

Christine is furious, David ashen-faced, Sophie distracted, and only Jenny listens carefully as Vince Barton of Barton & Sons reads their father’s will. Either they build his coffin – in four days – or they lose their inheritance. All of it.

An enthralling, perceptive and unforgettable debut novel, The Deed explores the crazy, messy complications that only the best and worst of family can bring. Sometimes greed can be good.