An evening of perfect preparation. A night of uninvited chaos. In her stylish apartment, the hostess is hard at work. She folds linen napkins, arranges wildflowers and cues up algorithmically chosen soft jazz to project an effortless cool. Every detail is chosen with care, which makes it all the more galling when her guests arrive late and already drunk. As small talk becomes slurred confessions and lost inhibitions, the hostess struggles to maintain control over an evening far beyond her wildest imaginings. The breakout hit about a dinner party that goes deliciously wrong: 'Irresistible. . . astute observations on the absurd theatre of aspirational living in the age of social media' New Statesman 'Brilliantly clever' Irish Times 'A moreish story. . . akin to Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection' Guardian 'Clever, amusing. . . to be consuming in one sitting' Daily Mail 'Deliciously unsettling and thoroughly enjoyable' Aysegül Savas, author of The Anthropologists 'As pleasurable as a case of Crémant' Claire Powell, author of At the Table 'Beautiful writing' Stylist 'For anyone who enjoys food, this is a must read! ' Goodreads Reviewer 'Sharp, darkly funny. . . it kept me fully engaged from start to finish ' Goodreads Reviewer

Teresa Präauer is a prize-winning Austrian author, essayist and playwright. She is a literary columnist for German newspapers and magazines, and lectures at universities internationally. Cooking in the Wrong Century is the first of her novels to be translated into English and received the highly prestigious Bremer Literaturpreis.