New Anne Enright novel set for 2020 release

Acclaimed Dublin-based author Anne Enright's forthcoming novel is slated for release this upcoming year, on February 20th. Entitled Actress, the novel is set to engage with themes of sexual power and celebrity. This is Enright's first book release for five years. The book is highly anticipated, as she's a big award winner and was the recipient of the illustrious Man Booker Prize, which honors the best novel published in the English language each year.

Actress' synopsis reads: 'This is the story of Irish theatre legend Katherine O’Dell, as written by her daughter Norah. It tells of early stardom in Hollywood, of highs and lows on the stages of Dublin and London’s West End. Katherine’s life is a grand performance, with young Norah watching from the wings. But this romance between mother and daughter cannot survive Katherine’s past or the world’s damage. As Norah uncovers her mother’s secrets, she acquires a few of her own. Then, fame turns to infamy when Katherine decides to commit a bizarre crime.'

Jonathan Cape, who is publishing the book, describes it as “a brilliant and moving novel about fame, sexual power, and a daughter’s search to understand her mother’s hidden truths”. It features “the glamour of post-war America and the shabbiness of 1970s Dublin” and offers “a scintillating examination of the corrosive nature of celebrity”.

Enright has published three collections of stories, one book of non-fiction, and six novels. Other accolades of hers include winning Irish Novel of the Year for The Gathering,  the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction for The Forgotten Waltz, and Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award for The Green Road.