The Paper Palace

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

£0.00 for first 30 days

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get 3 months for £0.99/mo

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.

Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.

1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.

Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.

Access exclusive sales and deals.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Paper Palace

By: Miranda Cowley Heller

Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

2 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2022

A PAGE-TURNING SUMMERTIME READ FOR FANS OF WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING AND LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

On a perfect August morning, Elle Bishop heads out for a swim in the pond below 'The Paper Palace' - her family's holiday home in Cape Cod. As she dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside...

So begins a story that unfolds over twenty-four hours and fifty years, as Elle's shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision - and an ending you won't be able to stop thinking about.

'A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle' REESE WITHERSPOON

'Glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it' MARIAN KEYES

'Here is a love triangle that keeps you turning the pages' Rachel Joyce

'Utterly addictive' Rosamund Lupton

'Dry, sharp and with devastating depths plumbed so elegantly' Pandora Sykes

'Smart, atmospheric and seriously juicy' Stylist

'Earthy, intoxicating, shimmering' Sunday Times

© Miranda Cowley Heller 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Family Life

Fiction

Genre Fiction

Literary Fiction

Women's Fiction

Heartfelt

Listeners also enjoyed...

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things cover art

Critic reviews

A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle

It's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it (Marian Keyes)

This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart

A family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, The Paper Palace is a stunning literary debut that will eat you up and leave you reeling - you won't want it to end

It's been ages since I was so absorbed in a contemporary novel. I loved it (Nick Hornby)

In rich and sensuous prose, Cowley Heller, cracks open the human heart and exposes her character's choices: the paths not taken and the devastating consequences. I smelled the old cabins and the backwoods, felt the pond water lapping around my ankles, experienced the love and loss of family. A perceptive and powerful story which will stay with me for a long time (Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground)

Tightly woven and immediate, The Paper Palace takes us deep into a vivid summer landscape, a family, and a private, longstanding love story, and holds us there from start to finish (Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife and The Female Persuasion)

I can't think of a more brilliant debut than The Paper Palace. Enticing, assured and multi-layered, it introduces a major new voice in American fiction . . . A marvel (Cressida Connolly)

Absolutely phenomenal novel - dazzling writing and utterly addictive. Read it (Rosamund Lupton)

It felt as if I read The Paper Palace in one go. It was completely immersive, and shocking, and utterly alive. I loved it (Nina Stibbe)

Most relevant

I couldn’t get enough of this book, I listen to a book a week and finished this in a couple of days. It was a extremely well written book. The descriptions in the book added to the atmosphere, I could feel, smell and see all the experiences the author was portraying. I loved that it started in the 60s and we traveled through the lifetime of the main character. I will say there are descriptions of abuse and if this is a triggering subject you need to be aware before listening, as it’s very upsetting.
The book as a whole is amazing, real and authentic. I will listen to it again for sure and I rarely do that with books. I would love to find something like it on the future. I cried in parts and related to some of the experiences the main character goes through. You won’t regret this book.