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Sphere has acquired The Best Friend, a standalone novella by Jessica Fellowes, author of The Mitford Murders series which is also published by the Little, Brown imprint.
Ed Wood, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Caroline Michel at PFD. St Martins will publish in the US and Mondadori will publish in Italy.
The Best Friend, Fellowes' first standalone novel, will follow the intense, toxic friendship of two kindred spirits, Kate and Bella, across their lifetimes. It will be published in summer 2022.
Wood said: "With The Best Friend, Jessica has really stepped up her writing to a new level. It’s a concise, powerful and suspenseful literary novel that is by turns shocking, witty and ultimately, heartbreaking. It’s both timeless and, in its discussions around consent and gender roles, thoroughly modern."
"I’m so happy to have stayed with my publishing families in the UK and US for this very personal piece of writing," said Fellowes. "Their support and guidance all along the way has allowed me to take this step in a new direction."
Sphere published the three titles in Fellowes' The Mitford Murder series: The Mitford Murders (2017), The Mitford Affair (2018) and The Mitford Scandal (2019).