Set in London over a weekend in 2010, this is a darkly humorous book about a bohemian middle class family with a patriarchal monster at its centre.

A lot is riding on Ray Hanrahan's art exhibition, the first for a decade. He summons his family and friends to the decaying family home to celebrate the occasion, starting with a dinner on the Friday evening. His wife, Lucia, an artist in her own right, has sidelined her own career to allow her husband's to flourish and to bring up their three children, Leah, Jess and Patrick.

Leah has not yet left home and devotedly looks after her ailing father. Her younger sister, Jess is a teacher and has flown the nest to Scotland where she lives with her boyfriend Martyn. Patrick, Lucia's son from a previous relationship, lives in a caravan at the bottom of the garden, struggling with his mental health and dreaming of becoming a chef.

As the family gathers, Lucia is consumed by thoughts of someone new and exciting in her life and wondering anxiously why her gallery manager is so persistently trying to get hold of her. Ray will not be happy if it is news of her success. Meanwhile, Jess is also harbouring a secret which means that she too will be facing some life changing decisions.

Charlotte Mendelson is an award- winning author and The Exhibitionist was long listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022. Her other works include Daughters of Jerusalem, When We Were Bad and Almost English.

Written by Charlotte Mendelson
Reader: Tracy-Ann Oberman
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
Sound Designers: Sean Kerwin and Iain Hunter
Music: Autumn Leaves by The Bill Evans Trio

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 Show less