📖 Book Review ~ Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

Tinder Press
March 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Florence Darrow is a small-town striver who believes that she's destined to become a celebrated writer. When she stumbles into the opportunity to become the assistant to "Maud Dixon," a celebrated-but anonymous-novelist (think: Elena Ferrante), she believes that the universe is finally providing her big chance. The arrangement feels idyllic; Helen can be prickly, but she is full of pointed wisdom on both writing and living. She even invites Florence along on a research trip to Morocco, where her new novel is set. Florence has never been out of the country before; maybe, she imagines, she'll finally have something exciting to write about herself.

But when Florence wakes up in the hospital after a terrible car crash, and Helen is dead, she begins to imagine what it might be like to 'upgrade' into not only Helen's life, but also that of Helen's bestselling pseudonym, Maud Dixon.

📖 My Review

Florence Darrow desperately wants to be a writer however, when we first meet her Florence's career seems to have plateaued and her job as an assistant editor in a New York publishing house isn't as exciting as she hoped it would be. All is set to change, however, when she grasps the opportunity to work for the eponymous 'Maud Dixon' a celebrated writer who wishes to remain anonymous. Working with this talented author opens up new opportunities for Florence, and it must be said rather more than she anticipated.

The author writes well and and after a bit of a low start, there's a good solid plot to the story with enough twists and turns. I wasn't terribly fond of Florence at the start but, as the story progressed, I warmed to her character and enjoyed following her complicated progression. This is one of those stories where it's easy to give too much away so I won't say where the story ends up but I thought it was a great ending to an entertaining story.

Who is Maud Dixon? is a good debut novel by an accomplished new writer. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

🍶 Best Read with... a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

About the Author

Alexandra Andrews has written for ProPublica, New York Magazine and Huffington Post, been a commercial copy writer, and even interned at The Paris Review. She lives in New York with her family.

Twitter #WhoIsMaudDixon

@TinderPress