The Wardrobe Department
- 13 Feb 2025
- 9781805302360
- £16.99
- 240 pp
- 140×220mm
- 15 Jan 2026
- 9781837261031
- £9.99
- 240 pp
- 129×198mm
- 13 Feb 2025
- 9781837260195
- £14.99
- 240 pp
- 140×220mm
- 13 Feb 2025
- 9781837260188
- £7.99
- 240 pp
- 13 Feb 2025
- 9781837260201
- £20.99
- 5 hrs 39 min
In a few words
A stunning debut examining the ache we all have to belong, from a major new literary talent
In a few words
A stunning debut examining the ache we all have to belong, from a major new literary talent
In a few words
A stunning debut examining the ache we all have to belong, from a major new literary talent
In a few words
A stunning debut examining the ache we all have to belong, from a major new literary talent
In a few words
A stunning debut examining the ache we all have to belong, from a major new literary talent
Astutely observed and beautifully written. I rooted for Mairéad all the way to the end of this impressive debut
Louise Kennedy
Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I'm certain the reader will recognise inside half a page that she's the real thing
Kevin Barry
Astutely observed and beautifully written. I rooted for Mairéad all the way to the end of this impressive debut
Louise Kennedy
Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I'm certain the reader will recognise inside half a page that she's the real thing
Kevin Barry
Astutely observed and beautifully written. I rooted for Mairéad all the way to the end of this impressive debut
Louise Kennedy
Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I'm certain the reader will recognise inside half a page that she's the real thing
Kevin Barry
Astutely observed and beautifully written. I rooted for Mairéad all the way to the end of this impressive debut
Louise Kennedy
Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I'm certain the reader will recognise inside half a page that she's the real thing
Kevin Barry
Astutely observed and beautifully written. I rooted for Mairéad all the way to the end of this impressive debut
Louise Kennedy
Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I'm certain the reader will recognise inside half a page that she's the real thing
Kevin Barry
More about
the book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
AN IRISH TIMES DEBUT AUTHOR TO LOOK OUT FOR 2025
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST DEBUT OF 2025
Mairéad works all hours in a run-down West End theatre’s wardrobe department, her whole existence made up of threads and needles, running errands to mend shoes, fixing broken zips and handwashing underwear. She must also do her best to avoid groping hands backstage and the terrible bullying of the show’s producer.
But, despite her skill and growing experience, half of Mairéad remains in her windy, hedge-filled home in Ireland, and the life she abandoned there. In noughties London, she has the potential to be somebody completely new – why, then, does she feel so stuck? Between the bustling side streets of Soho, and the wet grass of Leitrim and Donegal, Mairéad is caught, running from the girl she was but unable to reveal the woman she’d hoped to become.
Told with rare honesty and equal measures of warmth and bite, The Wardrobe Department is a story about reckoning with the past, finding the courage to change the present – and asking what comes next.
More about
the book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
AN IRISH TIMES DEBUT AUTHOR TO LOOK OUT FOR 2025
‘Beautifully written’ LOUISE KENNEDY
‘Full of verve and wit and humanity’ MARY COSTELLO
‘Clever and original’ TLS
‘A tremendous new talent’ KEVIN BARRY
Mairéad works tirelessly in a run-down West End theatre’s wardrobe department – mending shoes, fixing broken zips and even handwashing underwear. She must also sidestep groping hands backstage and withstand the relentless bullying of the show’s producer.
The job was meant to be the first step towards the life Mairéad has always wanted, and yet half of her remains back home in Ireland, along with everything she abandoned there.
A reckoning with the past is coming and, with it, the need to forge a new present – one stitch at a time.
More about
the book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
AN IRISH TIMES DEBUT AUTHOR TO LOOK OUT FOR 2025
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST DEBUT OF 2025
Mairéad works all hours in a run-down West End theatre’s wardrobe department, her whole existence made up of threads and needles, running errands to mend shoes, fixing broken zips and handwashing underwear. She must also do her best to avoid groping hands backstage and the terrible bullying of the show’s producer.
But, despite her skill and growing experience, half of Mairéad remains in her windy, hedge-filled home in Ireland, and the life she abandoned there. In noughties London, she has the potential to be somebody completely new – why, then, does she feel so stuck? Between the bustling side streets of Soho, and the wet grass of Leitrim and Donegal, Mairéad is caught, running from the girl she was but unable to reveal the woman she’d hoped to become.
Told with rare honesty and equal measures of warmth and bite, The Wardrobe Department is a story about reckoning with the past, finding the courage to change the present – and asking what comes next.
More about
the book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
AN IRISH TIMES DEBUT AUTHOR TO LOOK OUT FOR 2025
‘Beautifully written’ LOUISE KENNEDY
‘Full of verve and wit and humanity’ MARY COSTELLO
‘Clever and original’ TLS
‘A tremendous new talent’ KEVIN BARRY
Mairéad works tirelessly in a run-down West End theatre’s wardrobe department – mending shoes, fixing broken zips and even handwashing underwear. She must also sidestep groping hands backstage and withstand the relentless bullying of the show’s producer.
The job was meant to be the first step towards the life Mairéad has always wanted, and yet half of her remains back home in Ireland, along with everything she abandoned there.
A reckoning with the past is coming and, with it, the need to forge a new present – one stitch at a time.
More about
the book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
AN IRISH TIMES DEBUT AUTHOR TO LOOK OUT FOR 2025
‘Beautifully written’ LOUISE KENNEDY
‘Full of verve and wit and humanity’ MARY COSTELLO
‘Clever and original’ TLS
‘A tremendous new talent’ KEVIN BARRY
Mairéad works tirelessly in a run-down West End theatre’s wardrobe department – mending shoes, fixing broken zips and even handwashing underwear. She must also sidestep groping hands backstage and withstand the relentless bullying of the show’s producer.
The job was meant to be the first step towards the life Mairéad has always wanted, and yet half of her remains back home in Ireland, along with everything she abandoned there.
A reckoning with the past is coming and, with it, the need to forge a new present – one stitch at a time.
The Wardrobe Department is at once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling, and its author a sure hand with a light touch . . . Garvey [is] one of those enviable writers whose piercing eye for human contradiction and self-sabotage never dims her affection for the souls she's so beautifully painted
Lisa Mcinerney
Clever and original
Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she’s known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty
John Boyne
Irish IndependentA truly beautiful novel. Mairéad is an unforgettable character, revealed in tender, sharp, emotional prose. Garvey's sentences form a delicate pattern, the structure flawless, drawing the reader into the hidden world of London theatre and rural Ireland through complex relationships that question what it means to belong. The Wardrobe Department is that rare thing, already a classic. Garvey is an exquisite talent
Olivia Fitzsimons
The Wardrobe Department is at once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling, and its author a sure hand with a light touch . . . Garvey [is] one of those enviable writers whose piercing eye for human contradiction and self-sabotage never dims her affection for the souls she's so beautifully painted
Lisa Mcinerney
Clever and original
Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she’s known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty
John Boyne
Irish IndependentA truly beautiful novel. Mairéad is an unforgettable character, revealed in tender, sharp, emotional prose. Garvey's sentences form a delicate pattern, the structure flawless, drawing the reader into the hidden world of London theatre and rural Ireland through complex relationships that question what it means to belong. The Wardrobe Department is that rare thing, already a classic. Garvey is an exquisite talent
Olivia Fitzsimons
The Wardrobe Department is at once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling, and its author a sure hand with a light touch . . . Garvey [is] one of those enviable writers whose piercing eye for human contradiction and self-sabotage never dims her affection for the souls she's so beautifully painted
Lisa Mcinerney
Clever and original
Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she’s known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty
John Boyne
Irish IndependentA truly beautiful novel. Mairéad is an unforgettable character, revealed in tender, sharp, emotional prose. Garvey's sentences form a delicate pattern, the structure flawless, drawing the reader into the hidden world of London theatre and rural Ireland through complex relationships that question what it means to belong. The Wardrobe Department is that rare thing, already a classic. Garvey is an exquisite talent
Olivia Fitzsimons
The Wardrobe Department is at once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling, and its author a sure hand with a light touch . . . Garvey [is] one of those enviable writers whose piercing eye for human contradiction and self-sabotage never dims her affection for the souls she's so beautifully painted
Lisa Mcinerney
Clever and original
Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she’s known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty
John Boyne
Irish IndependentA truly beautiful novel. Mairéad is an unforgettable character, revealed in tender, sharp, emotional prose. Garvey's sentences form a delicate pattern, the structure flawless, drawing the reader into the hidden world of London theatre and rural Ireland through complex relationships that question what it means to belong. The Wardrobe Department is that rare thing, already a classic. Garvey is an exquisite talent
Olivia Fitzsimons
The Wardrobe Department is at once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling, and its author a sure hand with a light touch . . . Garvey [is] one of those enviable writers whose piercing eye for human contradiction and self-sabotage never dims her affection for the souls she's so beautifully painted
Lisa Mcinerney
Clever and original
Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she’s known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty
John Boyne
Irish IndependentA truly beautiful novel. Mairéad is an unforgettable character, revealed in tender, sharp, emotional prose. Garvey's sentences form a delicate pattern, the structure flawless, drawing the reader into the hidden world of London theatre and rural Ireland through complex relationships that question what it means to belong. The Wardrobe Department is that rare thing, already a classic. Garvey is an exquisite talent
Olivia Fitzsimons
Elaine Garvey
View profileElaine Garvey is from Co. Sligo, Ireland. She completed an M.Phil. in Creative Writing in Trinity College, Dublin in 2000. Her short stories have been published in the Dublin Review and Winter Papers. She has worked as a programme co-ordinator at the Stinging Fly, was awarded an agility grant for her writing and has recently been selected as a participant on a basic income scheme for artists by the Irish Department of Arts. The Wardrobe Department is her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year in association with Listowel Writers’ Week in 2026.
Elaine Garvey
View profileElaine Garvey is from Co. Sligo, Ireland. She completed an M.Phil. in Creative Writing in Trinity College, Dublin in 2000. Her short stories have been published in the Dublin Review and Winter Papers. She has worked as a programme co-ordinator at the Stinging Fly, was awarded an agility grant for her writing and has recently been selected as a participant on a basic income scheme for artists by the Irish Department of Arts. The Wardrobe Department is her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year in association with Listowel Writers’ Week in 2026.
Elaine Garvey
View profileElaine Garvey is from Co. Sligo, Ireland. She completed an M.Phil. in Creative Writing in Trinity College, Dublin in 2000. Her short stories have been published in the Dublin Review and Winter Papers. She has worked as a programme co-ordinator at the Stinging Fly, was awarded an agility grant for her writing and has recently been selected as a participant on a basic income scheme for artists by the Irish Department of Arts. The Wardrobe Department is her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year in association with Listowel Writers’ Week in 2026.
Elaine Garvey
View profileElaine Garvey is from Co. Sligo, Ireland. She completed an M.Phil. in Creative Writing in Trinity College, Dublin in 2000. Her short stories have been published in the Dublin Review and Winter Papers. She has worked as a programme co-ordinator at the Stinging Fly, was awarded an agility grant for her writing and has recently been selected as a participant on a basic income scheme for artists by the Irish Department of Arts. The Wardrobe Department is her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year in association with Listowel Writers’ Week in 2026.
Elaine Garvey
View profileElaine Garvey is from Co. Sligo, Ireland. She completed an M.Phil. in Creative Writing in Trinity College, Dublin in 2000. Her short stories have been published in the Dublin Review and Winter Papers. She has worked as a programme co-ordinator at the Stinging Fly, was awarded an agility grant for her writing and has recently been selected as a participant on a basic income scheme for artists by the Irish Department of Arts. The Wardrobe Department is her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year in association with Listowel Writers’ Week in 2026.
