All That Life Can Afford - by Emily Everett (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A taut, lyrical, and life-affirming debut, All That Life Can Afford is a tale of aspirations, high society, and the bittersweet journey of turning over a new leaf while staying true to one's roots. I would arrive, blank like a sheet of notebook paper, and write myself new. As a child, Eva devoured London through library books-savoring its soft, dreamlike edges of castles and dances, a far cry from her life of co-pays and Craigslist and caring for her diabetic mother. She wanted to climb through the pages and live there. But when she arrives after college to a mildewed flat full of mousetraps, the real London, that free, intoxicating life of plenty, feels just as inaccessible as it did from America. Then she meets the Wilders-her stubborn, brilliant tutee Pippa, who whisks her off to Saint Tropez for winter lessons, and sphinxlike Faye, who dolls Eva up in her clothing and makeup, toting her around like a shiny new bauble. From Lisbon to Highgate, Eva is thrown into a heady whirlpool of luxury and excess, uncovering a hidden side of Europe, one where confidence is a birthright and blue blood runs through bulletproof veins. This life feels like a play upon a high, distant stage, but when Eva starts to take the role a little too seriously, she risks forgetting who she is underneath her borrowed clothes"--

Book Synopsis

A taut and lyrical coming-of-age debut about a young American woman navigating class, lies, and love amid London's jet-set elite.

I would arrive, blank like a sheet of notebook paper, and write myself new.

Anna first fell in love with London at her hometown library--its Jane Austen balls a far cry from her life of food stamps and hand-me-downs. But when she finally arrives after college, the real London is a moldy flat and the same paycheck-to-paycheck grind--that fairy-tale life still out of reach.

Then Anna meets the Wilders, who fly her to Saint-Tropez to tutor their teenage daughter. Swept up by the sphinxlike elder sister, Anna soon finds herself plunged into a heady whirlpool of parties and excess, a place where confidence is a birthright. There she meets two handsome young men--one who wants to whisk her into his world in a chauffeured car, the other who sees through Anna's struggle to outrun her past. It's like she's stepped into the pages of a glittering new novel, but what will it cost her to play the part?

Sparkling with intelligence and insight, All That Life Can Afford peels back the glossy layers of class and privilege, exploring what it means to create a new life for yourself that still honors the one you've left behind.

Review Quotes

"All That Life Can Afford absolutely sparkles. It's somehow completely romantic even as it plays with the conventions of romance; it's luminous while questioning luminousness; and it's a book with the tenderness of grief at its heart. Emily Everett is a massive talent. I can't wait to read more."
--Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich and We All Want Impossible Things

"Emily Everett's All That Life Can Afford is a wildly entertaining fish-out-of-water story meets Cinderella fairy tale. Readers will eagerly swim along as her American heroine, Anna, navigates the tempestuous waves and powerful undercurrents of the British upper crust. An effervescent debut chock full of Austenian nods. Swoonworthy!"
--Sarah McCoy, New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of Mustique Island

"Everett debuts with an exquisite retelling of Pride and Prejudice, about an American tutor in contemporary Europe...Much of the deceptively breezy narrative unfolds against a backdrop of lush scenery and lavish dinners and parties. Along the way, Everett sharply conveys Anna's acute and sometimes self-destructive longing for acceptance. This erudite romance is deeply satisfying."
--Publisher's Weekly (starred)

"There's no one who romanticizes her life better than Anna Byrne, who has lived her whole life wishing she was a quirky Austenian heroine, and then suddenly, with some luck and a lot of nerve, she is. Languid, escapist, romantic, and just so fun to read, All That Life Can Afford feels like an amalgam of all the most interesting Austenian protagonists - except in this novel she is a millennial American from Massachusetts thrust into the wealthiest, most fashionable set of contemporary London. Emily Everett captures, with a wry smirk, the optimism and confusion of coming of age, of falling in love, and of trying to fit in - while everything threatens to fall apart. She asks the age-old question - if you change what you appear to be, can you change who you really are? Jane Austen would be proud."
-- Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made

"With a satisfying nod to Dickens and Austen, Everett's engrossing novel reminds us that we still live in a world stratified by class and money, where a young woman can easily lose her bearings to the seduction of belonging."
--Nicola Kraus, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of The Nanny Diaries

"All That Life Can Afford is equal parts escapist romp and desperate hustle--a book about class, family, friendship, and double-edged dreams. Emily Everett's sharp, lyrical prose grips you from the start."
--Justin Torres, National Book Award Winner for Blackouts

"If Pride and Prejudice's Elizabeth Bennet walked into The Great Gatsby, and they were all transported to the year 2009, that would be Everett's sparkling novel: a coming-of-age story of love, grief, friendship, and of course, money. Addictive, pleasurable, and always fun, All That Life Can Afford is also grounded and sincere, a modern twist on familiar classics that I devoured."
--Aja Gabel, author of The Ensemble

"A SoHo House of Mirth for the 21st century, an American expat takes the low road to fit in with England's jet set, resulting in a story that's all the more delightful for its misadventures and wrong turns. Charming, witty and heartfelt, Everett's writing goes down as easy as a Pimm's Cup. You'll want another round!"
-- Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You

About the Author

Emily Everett is an editor and writer from western Massachusetts. Her short fiction appears in The Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review. She is a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Fiction. Everett grew up on a small family dairy farm, studied English and music at Smith College, and studied abroad for a year at University College London. After graduating, she returned to London to do an M.A. in literature at Queen Mary University of London. She lived and worked in the UK from 2009 to 2013. Everett has been managing editor of The Common, a literary magazine based at Amherst College, since 2016. At The Common, she edits fiction, manages print and online production, and hosts the magazine's podcast. All That Life Can Afford is her debut novel.