Publication dates. UK June 8th 2023 US July 13th 2023.
New money, old money, no money.
Shortlisted for The Baileys Women's Prize for fiction.
The Search for Nica the Rebellious Rothschild.
High Time order a signed copy
'Enough plot twists to outdo a New York pretzel. And High Time is more delicious.' - Airmail
'… if Jilly Cooper by way of Joanna Trollope with a bit of Nancy Mitford thrown in for good measure is your cocktail of choice, then this will slip down a treat.' - Jewish Chronicle
'(Rothschild's) brilliant new novel, High Time, is pure escapist satire. Once again set in the world of high art as well as high finance – both of which she lampoons with comic aplomb – the book reads like a thrilling fairground ride version of Downton Abbey.' - Independent
'Over-the-top hilarious and a sharply satiric view of late-stage capitalism, this plays like a savvy cross between Brideshead Revisited and Succession as written by the Monty Python troupe' - Publishers Weekly
‘Blissful, escapist fiction… prepare to be entertained’ - Sainsbury's Magazine
'A satirical comedy of manners on the ways business and finance interact - and is a whole lot of fun too. Wonderful and fanciful...High Time is fast-paced and high energy, but also contains moment of real sentiment. Hannah proves her deftness for wit and style in this Mitfordesque satire. High art hustles and Cornish castles, High Time is perfect escapist reading with real heart."- City AM
‘The perfect summer read: mischievous and delicious. I devoured it in one go’ - Miranda Cowley Heller
'A must-read for 2023' - Tatler
'An entertaining and arch caper' - Grazia
'An entertaining dissection of the very British obsessions with money, class and scandal... High Time is a lot of fun' - Irish Times
'One of the wittiest writers around' - Good Housekeeping
‘Something Nancy Mitford and Jilly Cooper might have cooked up’ - The Times
'Funny, emotionally insightful, a cracking paced thriller.' - Julia Samuel
'High Time - high style, high jinx. My kind of novel - intelligent escapism at its most satisfying' - Gyles Brandreth
'High Time is a manically and magical wonderful romp, fast and furious in pace, style and extravagance' - Geordie Greig
'Biting and satirical, but also poignant and moving, High Time is a delicious story of madness, mayhem, and mischief run amok' - Book Browse
'Exuberant. revels in satirising English attitudes to class, cash and family scandal' - Mail on Sunday
'A light and escapist tale new release with all the right ingredients' - Muddy Stilettos
Fans of House of Trelawney (and there are quite a few, including us) will devour this sequel. . . . There are enough plot twists to outdo a New York pretzel. And High Time is more delicious.” - Air Mail
“Hannah Rothschild contains multitudes. . . . [Her] gimlet-eyed observations. . . . gift for portraiture and willingness to turn anything (and anyone) into a joke make her a joy to read.” - Vogue
“A highly entertaining read.” - People
“When Hannah Rothschild has a new novel out, we pay attention. Her latest, High Time, delves once again into the aristocratic antics of the Trelawney family. . . . With a sharp eye for detail and a wicked sense of humor, Rothschild paints another thrilling portrait of the perils of great privilege.” - Town & Country
“An enjoyably complicated narrative. . . . that will keep readers turning pages to find out what happens next.” - Kirkus Reviews
“A convulsively comic sequel to Rothschild’s House of Trelawney. . . . With scenes that are over-the-top hilarious and a sharply satiric view of late-stage capitalism, [High Time] plays like a savvy cross between Brideshead Revisited and Succession as written by the Monty Python troupe.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review
'Sheer escapist bliss.' Nigella Lawson
'Pure joy.' India Knight
'Imagine Evelyn Waugh meets Nancy Mitford, with some Jilly Cooper thrown in, and you have this splendid romp.' YOU
‘...the British haven’t lost is their sense of humor, and Ms. Rothschild provides a large dose of it in this quirky satire.’ The Wall Street Journal
'With echoes of Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford... Deliciously dark and wickedly funny, with unconventional, sympathetically drawn, mainly broke upper class characters, in beautiful settings. I laughed aloud' The Lady
'A satirical, clever and multi-layered read.' Women's Own
'This is a brilliant, witty and clever satire of the British aristocracy, about which it is both affectionate and deadly.' Sydney Morning Herald
'Rothschild's tale is a lively and entertaining.' Amanda Craig, The Guardian
'Abit of escapism tinged with schadenfreude, seen here by a sharp eye and seasoned with a tart tongue.' Washington Times
'Jilly Cooper fans (and who isn't?) will love the unashamedly upmarket settings and posh characters. A romcom to beat the winter blues: funny, sharply- observed and boho-chic glamorous.' Wendy Holden, Daily Mail
'Part comedy of manners, part serious meditation on money and gender roles, House of Trelawney is both deeply thought-provoking and thoroughly fun.' Bookpage.com
'Her style has been compared to comic writers such as Waugh and Mitford, which are apt in terms of both style and milieu, but comparisons can also be made to Austen and Dickens, as she shares their ability to create comic characters and to then put those characters in situations that allows the author to make satirical/social commentary.' Thenerddaily.com
'The madcap nature of the story; the clichés, and clever way they are rendered, make this a thoroughly enjoyable read - or, to use the correct terminology, a jolly good show. Yet the larger issues this satire plays on are equally fascinating.' Niamh Donnelly The Irish Times
'A satisfying read with plenty of good one liners.' Sunday Telegraph
'New novel gets British money exactly right.' US Town and Country
'House of Trelawney' is a gripping saga. Lynn Barber, Daily Telegraph
'This canny comedy of manners straddles the worlds of high finance and the crumbling aristocracy, branding love, revenge and market meltdown. Waspish yet generous hearted it delights from start to finish.' Mail on Sunday
'Rothschild teases out green shoots with skill and humour (she won the Wodehouse Everyman Bollinger prize for her novel 'The Improbability of Love'). ...a writer of high intelligence and she shakes old tropes into something more akin to John Lanchester's blistering social satire 'Capitalism.' Kate Atkinson, The Times
'A real page turner... sparklingly acerbic social satire... Funny and absorbing, House of Trelawney is the perfect antidote to a grey, Scottish winter's day.' The Courier
'Laugh out loud moments.' Harpers Bazaar
'Rothschild is a witty, stylish storyteller and her overall message feels timely-'Far from making any of them rich, wealth had impoverished them all.' Lucy Atkins, The Sunday Times
'If you're in need of a Succession replacement then this tale of a crumbling English dynasty clinging on to the past while coping with the fallout of the 2008 crash is for you. Rothschild is a mischievous narrator and this story is pure pleasure from the word go.' Stylist Magazine
'I have discovered Hannah Rothschild late - her The Improbability of Love was published in 2015. It is the perfect lying-on-the-sofa-with-cake read, being a witty, knowledgeable, sprawling, ingenious insider satire set in the art world. It has art dealers, Russian billionaires, hedgies, sheiks and a-love story. Some of the story is narrated by a painting, but don't let that put you off, it's pure joy from start to finish. Her next novel, House of Trelawney, about the rise and fall of some Cornish poshos, is out in February and I loved that even more.' India Knight, The Sunday Times Magazine
'This is a fascinating and fun romp of aristocracy hitting hard times and creatively working through the financial crash of 2008. This modern-day Downton Abbey, full of family dysfunction and love, is just as addictive as the TV series.' Beth Gibbs, Library Journal
'Curl up and lose yourself in this hugely entertaining satire of a deeply dysfunctional family of aristocrats desperate to save their crumbling Cornwall home.' iNews
'Snappy and sexy - Hannah Rothschild has written a racy rural satire on the decline of the English aristocracy which captures the spirit of our times. Witty and irreverent - but never without the human touch.' Lionel Barber, Editor Financial Times
'Evelyn Waugh meets the love child of Richard Curtis and the brilliant Joanna Trollope.' Geordie Greig, Editor Daily Mail
'Highlight of my holiday reading was a proof of Hannah Rothschild's fabulous forthcoming House of Trelawney. It's even funnier, more moving and more ingenuously plotted than her brilliant Improbability of Love and that is saying something. Completely delicious.' William Dalrymple, Author
'A deliciously wicked satire ... It's exquisitely written, shimmering with eye-catching detail, whether describing works of art or the dishes on display at an extravagant banquet. Beneath all that, there's a serious debate about the value we put on things - whether it's art or relationships - and the prices we're prepared to pay. A masterpiece.' Daily Mail
'Impishly wicked, ruthlessly frank, touchingly percipient and sometimes laugh aloud funny to boot. Hannah Rothschild captures the contradiction between art as money and art as the soul of humanity really well.' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Art Critic for The Times
'The Improbability of Love is a romp, a joy, and an inspired feast of clever delights. Reading this book is like a raid on a high-end pastry shop – you marvel at the expertise and cunning of the creations, while never wanting the deliciousness to end.' Elizabeth Gilbert
'Like a Rococo painting, this clever, funny, beguiling and wholly humane romance is a treat worthy of its subject.' The Independent
'Hannah Rothschild has written a wonderful satirical novel about a rare French Painting.' Andrew Marr, Start the Week
'The result is compelling reading, driven by the desire to know what happens next and along the way there are some hearty laughs at people's terrible behaviour.' Daphne Guinness, The Sydney Morning Herald
'Every page is a joy. It's funny, sad, profound. The writing dances. It has panache. It's beautifully structured. It wears its scholarship with a balletic lightness and grace that shadows the Rococo painting at its heart. Its many and varied characters are an exquisite joy. Her range and emotional grasp is wonderful. What more can I say? It's my Book of the Year.' Barbara Trapido
'It is mischievous, acute, rollicking and admiringly well-structured without being formulaic, Dickensian without being sprawling.' Rachel Johnson
'Hannah Rothschild is finally coming into her own. Soon to be head of the National Gallery, her novel about the art world is bound to be a bestseller.' Lynn Barber, Sunday Times
'A witty romp that gently pokes fun at the pretentiousness of arty types.' Good Housekeeping
'Both the satire of the art world and a romance … It's mischievous, fun and on the money.' Tatler
'Novel of the week . It all adds up to an ingenious meditation on the true value of art - timely indeed at a moment when paintings and sculpture seem to have become just another currency.' Mail on Sunday
'A novel that is so pleasurable I've read it twice, and will read it again . Beguiling.' Jackie McGlone, Glasgow Sunday Herald
'For a first novel, she manages to weave the themes of love, art, and skulduggery, with a huge cast thrown in, with a very sure hand. Light summer reading at its best.' Irish Independent
'Riveting, touching and insightful' The Daily Telegraph
'Rothschild's riveting account of her eccentric great-aunt Nica stands out for its nimble writing and brilliant story' The Independent's 50 Best Summer Reads
'Hannah Rothschild has done a brilliant job of telling the story, which is by turns moving, shocking and inspiring. Filled with photographs and startling details, it's utterly absorbing.' Elle
Hannah tells this story with care, balancing narrative tension with a desire to lay out all the facts so readers can make up their own minds… wholly gripping.' Rachel Cooke in The Guardian
'very moving… a most beguiling book and tale' Libby Purves on Midweek, BBC Radio 4
'An eminently readable, well researched biography. It is one-third a history of the Rothschild family, one third a portrait of Nica, and one-third a biography of Monk. Nica comes across as a remarkable woman, strong, feisty and rebellious' Sunday Times
'Lillian Pizzichini applauds the swinging life of a bebop Bolter' '… absorbing. Nica's self-styled mission was to care for these fragile creatures with the resolve of her immigrant forebears and the love and empathy she passed on to her great-niece' Sunday Telegraph 'It's a gripping yarn that more than proves that life is stranger than fiction.' The Literary Review
'Eloquently-written labour of love' Daily Mail
'…An intriguing biography, a detective story of sorts… Rothschild sketches a tantalising portrait of an heiress who turned her back on a cloistered life' The Independent
'Full of interest and warmth' Spectator
'The colourful life of a jazz philanthropist… A rounded portrait.' Richard Williams in The Guardian
'Lovingly compiled memoir..' '…This is an honest portrait of an extraordinary life. It's a gripping yarn that more than proves that life is stranger than fiction.' Literary Review
'Vivid' FT
'It's a tale of mystery, intrigue and exoticism.' Jewish Telegraph
At first glance Thelonious (Monk) and Pannonica (Rothschild) might seem to have nothing in common. Yet as Hannah Rothschild shows in this tender memoir, the symmetries of their lives ran far deeper.' Kathryn Hughes, The Mail on Sunday
'Richly textured, elegantly told and often as surprising as its subject, Hannah Rothschild's biography of her great-aunt is a moving tribute to a fascinating and original woman' Country Life
'A colourful, entertaining study of a fearless, fiercely loyal, independent and slightly bonkers adventuress' The Herald
'There are so many best bits in this documentary that it is hard to choose between them, though a knockabout routine with Alastair Campbell deserves a special mention...Mandelson is a gift to a film maker but Rothschild has made the best of her material. Beautifully observed, intelligent and subtly subversive, this is a real tour de force.' Jane Shilling, Evening Standard.
'Astonishing Viewing. A jaw droppingly candid view- that takes no prisoners- of a tumultuous period in British politics.' Sharon Lougher, Metro
'Riveting viewing' Marc Deanie, The Sun
'It should become one of the classic political documentaries.' Michael Crick
'When a political documentary works The War Room for example it channels the adrenalin which addicts politicians and the sheer thrill of the pure political animal. Hannah Rothschild¹s documentary for BBC¹s Storyville strand is an extraordinary portrait of Britain¹s Peter Mandelson in the run-up to this May¹s general election. Hannah Rothschild¹s documentary has the potential to attract wider audiences than the Westminster village despite its narrow UK focus and sits comfortably in the Storyville roster of excellence (Hoop Dreams, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired).' Finn Haligan, Screen International
'A gripping and brilliant film' Rosie Boycott Evening Standard
'It offers a fascinating view from inside that weird, endgame election – imagine a slow, knackered version of The Thick Of It, without the swearing – and there are brilliant moments: here he is in his pants and socks; here he is with hulking auld enemy, Alastair Campbell, eating soggy sandwiches as they watch the first PM's debate on TV. Best of all, more footage of that foxtrot with a pensioner in Blackpool.' Scotland Herald
'an engrossing look at the run-up to the general election.' Geoffrey Mcnab The independent
'an intensely fun film to watch.' Dave Calhoun, Time Out
'The genius of this film is that it captures the bits in between to create an unforgettable portrait' Stephen Frears, The Evening Standard
'..this is heaven for political geeks. More than the sheer thrill of having a camera placed at the heart of the government machine - where journalists are seldom allowed to tread - the documentary's main strength is that it is actually rather hilarious...We feel like flies on a tremendously interesting wall.' Peter Wozniak, Politics.co.uk
Harper's Bazaar - November 2010 - Click here to read
Evening Standard - 13 October 2010 - Click here to read
Hannah Rothschild CBE is a British writer, documentary filmmaker, businesswoman and philanthropist. Her biography, The Baroness, was published in 2012 in the UK, US and twelve other territories. Her first novel, The Improbability of Love, published in 2015 won the Bollinger Wodehouse Prize for best comic novel and was runner up for the Bailey Women's Prize for fiction in 2015. Her much anticipated latest novel, House of Trelawney, was published in February 2020.
Hannah’s features and interviews appear in The Telegraph, The Times (London), The New York Times and Vogue. Her documentaries have been shown on the BBC, HBO and at international film festivals. She has lectured on art, film and philanthropy at the Getty, the Royal Academy of Arts and at the Hay Festival. From August 2015 to October 2019 she was the first female Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery in London.
Hannah is actively involved in a range of organisations including the Rothschild Foundation, Waddesdon Manor, Yad Hanadiv, Illuminated River and an asset management company. In 2018, Hannah was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Literature and Philanthropy.
