Hutchinson Heinemann buys Eloise Poole’s ‘striking’ debut
Hutchinson Heinemann has acquired The Unknowing, a “precise and poignant” debut novel by Eloise Poole. Aspen Pattinson, assistant editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Imogen Pelham at Marjacq, with publication scheduled for spring 2027.
The Unknowing is described as a “a striking debut exploring how fiction refracts truth, how families create their own mythologies, and how we reinvent the people we love to understand ourselves”.
The synopsis reads: “Celebrated novelist Frances Oppenheimer has long been an enigma, a mystery even to her closest observer: her daughter. In the shadow of a family tragedy never spoken of, Frances has retreated even further, and the desire to understand her has grown stronger still. Now tasked with writing a manuscript of her own, Frances’ daughter combines inherited stories, overheard conversations, family heirlooms, and scenes of her own imagination as she sets out to assemble a portrait that may at last bring her mother into view.”
Pattinson said: “From the very first page of The Unknowing, I knew it was special. Quietly confident and emotionally intelligent, it reveals itself gradually and completely gets under your skin. In tonally spare yet emotionally rich prose, Eloise has captured the stories families tell themselves, and the gaps between who people really are and who we need them to be. I suspect any member of any family will be able to see parts of themselves in this beautiful novel, and I couldn’t be more delighted to bring Eloise and her debut to Hutchinson Heinemann.”
Poole is a writer and researcher based in Manchester. Her short fiction has been published by publications including Banshee, Short Fiction Journal and the Manchester Review. In 2025, she was shortlisted for the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize and the New Writing North Arvon Award.
She said: “I’ve been thinking about this story, this family, for a long time. I’m delighted The Unknowing has found a home at Hutchinson Heinemann. Working with Aspen, and my agent, Imogen, has been a complete joy. I’m very grateful to everyone involved.”
Pelham added: “I first read The Unknowing overnight, underlining passages I loved. It’s spare but rich; spacious but compulsive, with such an assured voice. Eloise is a brilliant writer. From the outset, Aspen has been an ardent champion of the novel, and I’m so thrilled that Hutchinson Heinemann will be publishing it.”
