One Day I Shall Astonish the World

By: Nina Stibbe

Narrated by: Joanna Scanlan

From the beloved author of Love, Nina, a frank, tender, and poignantly funny story about the ebb and flow of female friendship over half a lifetime.

Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, thirty years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work, and, most importantly, friendship.

Nina Stibbe's new novel is the story of the wonderful and sometimes surprising path of friendship: from its conspiratorial beginnings, along its irritating wrong turns, to its final gratifying destination.

Critic reviews

“Another wonderful, funny slice of fiction from the author of best-seller, Love Nina. Her latest novel explores a decades-long friendship between two women and what happens when your paths diverge.”—Good Housekeeping

“Nina Stibbe is one of our most beloved comic writers:One Day I Shall Astonish The World... about the lifelong friendship between two women, will cement that reputation further.”—Daily Mail

For beautifully funny and well-observed comic writing, Nina Stibbe is your go-to author. In her latest release, a tale of lifelong friendship between Susan and Norma, she explores the mistakes, rivalries and love we all experience in life—Stylist

Praise for Nina Stibbe:
"To read a Nina Stibbe novel is to experience joy."—Elin Hilderbrand, bestselling author of 28 SUMMERS

"Stibbe turns out more perfect, sharp, unique sentences than anyone else in the game."—Caitlin Moran

"So dense with amusing detail that I thought about holding the book upside down to see if any extra funny bits might spill from the creases between the page."—New York Times Book Review

"Reliably hilarious." —Entertainment Weekly

“Funny, charming, odd-in-the-best-way and gorgeously uplifting! A delight from start to finish.”—Marian Keyes

“We simply like being in Ms. Stibbe's company."—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“Pitch perfect vintage comedy”—Guardian

Just the best!

Nina Stibbe is such a gifted novelist! Her comic gift combined with her well honed writing skills are second to none. Can't be beat and I look forward to her next book coming out soon!

So funny, a treat!

Nina Stibbe’s books literally make me snort with laughter. God she’s funny. This one is also a very satisfying and relatable story about giving too much time and energy to people who you eventually realize, often on the late side, weren’t worth the effort.

I love Nina Stibbe - love her work!

Well written. Intelligent. A sweet story of friendship- but also more than that. It's the story of a life from one woman's perspective.

The Conundrum of the Friend Who Hurts You

I want to draw a weird Venn diagram of this book in which it overlaps with other piercing stories about friendships that have spikes in them. The two other examples that come to mind are My Brilliant Friend and The Banshees of Inisherin. I might also add A Separate Peace. The Banshees is more violent and much sadder, but I kept thinking about it when Norma did yet another frighteningly mean thing to Susan and Susan went on being friends with her, unable, it seemed, to help herself. The friendship is something inescapable, and as many times as I thought that I myself would never tolerate being treated the way Norma treats Susan, I admitted to myself that as an artistic choice and plot element it had a strange psychological resonance. Friendships with people you meet in your teens are deeply entwined with your own coming of age and your identity. A friend can hurt you more than almost anyone. To say that, and to also say that this is a truly comic book, seems paradoxical, and yet it’s true.

Wow. Boring.

Apparently rated high due to the last hour being about a universe handling Coronavirus. No story, boring characters.