Worse Than Strangers A Novel

A debut novel for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls, Worse Than Strangers is a Nantucket-set retelling of Austen’s Persuasion about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life.

Rose and Lily are best friends first, mother-daughter second, which is good because right now, Lily could really use a friend. Recently fired from her NYC magazine job and heartbroken, Lily has fled to the family cottage in Siasconset. She is shocked when she stumbles across her first love at the grocery store holding hands with his new fiancé—a fiancé he never mentioned on their many, many late-night phone calls.

Rose has secrets, too. A therapist about to start her own private practice, Rose’s world is rocked by the handsome renter staying in their guest cottage, Thomas Wentworth: the one person she thought she would never see again and the man who has always (unfortunately) held her heart.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set against a backdrop of blue and purple hydrangeas, swollen brick sidewalks, tall sea grass, and uniform, shingled houses, Lily and Rose Gardner’s summer journey of second chances, healing, and hope begs the question: Can you repeat the past, and is it ever too late to try again?

Kyleigh Leddy is the author of The Perfect Other: A Memoir of My Sister, which is based on her New York Times Modern Love essay, “Years Ago, My Sister Vanished. I See Her Whenever I Want.” Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine, Parents, and QCODE, among others. In 2023, she was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Media list. She holds a BA from Boston College and an MSW from Columbia University. She is a licensed therapist and teaches creative writing at Gotham Writers in NYC.