In a Good Place: A Novel

In this wickedly funny and heartwarming novel from the author of the international bestseller Notting Hell, one woman’s dream of English country living meets the complicated ups and downs of an enduring marriage.

Mimi and her husband Ralph have left social climbing, pushy parenting, and their marital problems behind them in London in favor of perfect, bucolic tranquility. Or so they thought. The village of Honeybourne has mud, masses of fresh air, and handsome hayseeds in abundance, but what should be rural heaven turns out to be just as tricky to navigate as Notting Hell, even with Mimi’s new best friend Rose—Dorset’s answer to Martha Stewart—by her side. Mimi can get by without world-class restaurants, spas, and vintage markets, but living without central heating is another challenge entirely. And while Honeybourne is thankfully free of prestigious preschools with waiting lists that begin in utero, it has its own fierce brand of competition—between landowners and eco-warriors, Old Money and No Money, Ralph Lauren-sporting racehorses and Barbour-wearing brood mares. Without a helipad for trophy guests, an organic farm shop, and a bottom that looks good in jodphurs, Mimi is at a distinct disadvantage. And that’s just the start of her problems, because Mimi also has a secret she must keep to save her marriage. With a gimlet eye for telling details and human foibles, Rachel Johnson has crafted a novel that is fresh, hilarious, and irresistibly funny—a brilliant slice of social satire with surprising depth and heart.

Rachel Johnson was born in 1965 and, after reading Greats at Oxford University, became the first female graduate trainee at the Financial Times. She has written for numerous newspapers and magazines, and was the editor of The Lady for three years. She is an internationally bestselling novelist as well as a broadcaster. She is a panellist on Sky News’s The Pledge debate show and has appeared on shows including Have I Got News For You, Question Time and Celebrity Big Brother, where she also lost to Ann Widdecombe. Married with three children, she lives in West London and Somerset.