This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial

Winner, Honorable Mention, 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards, True Crime category

Helen Garner won a 2015 Windham Campbell Prize for her outstanding contribution to international literature.

'Garner’s book is superbly alive to the narrative dynamics of the case; she tells a grim story of unhappy marriage, limited social opportunity, bitter divorce, and spousal grievance...what consumes her are the difficult questions that seem to lie beyond the reach of formal narration: the deepest assumptions of class and gender and power; the problem of how well we ever understand someone else’s motives.'—James Wood in The New Yorker

‘Grabbed me by the throat in the same way that the podcast series “Serial” did. Ms. Garner brilliantly and compassionately recounts the harrowing, real-life trial of Robert Farquharson.’—Gillian Anderson, Wall Street Journal

'As involving, heart-rending and unsettling a read as you could possibly find, a true-life account of three deaths and a trial that leaves you with a profound sense of unease as its drama unfolds, and disturbing questions about how we judge guilt and innocence. . . . Tailor-made for those who have gorged recently on the popular true-crime podcast Serial.'—The Times UK

'"The Joan Didion of Australia" writes a masterful book about a real-life family tragedy.... Her voice—intimate yet sharp, wry yet urgent—inspires trust as she pursues a twice-told tale that reveals an unsettling truth... we tell ourselves stories in order to live but also in order to take revenge, to share guilt, to prolong pain, to blur memory and motive.'—The Atlantic

'A gripping account of a murder trial in which few of the participants act and react in ways we might predict. It's an examination not just of what happened, but also of what we prefer to believe and what we cannot face believing.'—Julian Barnes

'Two books in one: an expertly reported, brilliantly written story and, woven into that, Garner's meditation on the meaning of that story.'—Head Butler

'Helen Garner is an invaluable guide into harrowing territory and offers powerful and unforgettable insights. This House of Grief, in its restraint and control, bears comparison with In Cold Blood.'—Kate Atkinson

This account of the competing narratives unfolding in the courtroom during a murder trial has attracted international acclaim. First published in April 2015 it is now released in a handsome B format edition.

Helen Garner is the author of numerous books of fiction and non-fiction. Her most recent novel The Spare Room was published to critical acclaim in 2010.