Having attended the recent Max Minerva’s book talk, I find myself more in love with Dolly Alderton and her writing than ever. Witty, astute and stylish, Alderton is as adept at charming an audience as she is at crafting memorable, authentic characters and captivating stories. A journalist, columnist, scriptwriter, podcast host and author, Dolly Alderton is truly a multitalented woman.
With the release of her fourth work, Alderton takes on a new male perspective to tackle issues of heartbreak, loss and redefining oneself in your thirties. This is a big change for an author whose readership is primarily women, which just goes to show that, no matter the content, Dolly Alderton fans will consume anything she puts her name to.
Her first book and memoir Everything I Know About Love became a Sunday Times bestseller within its first week of publication and has led the charge in renewed appreciation for female, platonic friendships. It even inspired a viral Tiktok trend in which quotes from the book were played over videos of users spending time with their long-term female friends.
Whilst reading EIKAL (Everything I Know About Love) I found myself laughing hysterically at the protagonist’s antics, tearing up only moments later at the more emotional passages. In both cases I was sending pictures of particularly relatable paragraphs to my friends, recommending this book to anyone who would listen. I genuinely believe that EIKAL is essential reading for anyone who may be feeling lost in their 20s. In 2022 Alderton’s first book was adapted into a series, available on BBC iPlayer, and while the story is adjusted slightly for the screen, it is no less touching and poignant than the novel.
Ghosts, Alderton’s second work and first novel approaches the messiness of dating and navigating relationships in your 30s. In particular this book tells the story of a woman coming to grips with her future as everything familiar and comfortable melts away. The main character Nina Dean meets a man who tells her he’s going to marry her on their first date, only to disappear off the face of the earth a few months into their courtship. Although this book’s premise didn’t feel as relatable to me as her previous work, I’m sure that those who have experienced the phenomenon of ghosting will be able to identify with Nina’s story. In typical Dolly Alderton fashion, there’s always something in her novels which strikes a familiar chord. Nina’s fear of being left behind by her married friends, her dread at the thought of being lonely, her worry of losing her parents to old age, all feel achingly real and relatable.
In 2022 Dolly Alderton released her third book Dear Dolly,  which is a compilation of responses to letters sent to her Sunday Times agony aunt column. Although I haven’t personally read this collection, it was also a Sunday Times bestseller and no doubt contains snippets of wisdom that have become known as Alderton’s signature.
Expressing that she has exhausted all avenues related to her own personal experiences with love, relationships and dating, this author’s newest work approaches familiar themes with a twist. Good Material is the story of Andy, a comedian in his 30s whose long-term girlfriend has just broken up with him, seemingly out of the blue. We follow Andy as he comes to terms with his newfound single status, experiences the dread of hair loss and negotiates less than ideal living situations. I’m not sure what’s worse: living on a claustrophobic leaky canal boat or with an elderly doomsday prepper who may or may not be a ghost. Alderton’s latest novel has all the charm, sharp humour and touching moments of her previous works.
That’s the magic of Dolly Alderton: although her upbringing in the affluent suburbs of North London and her undeniable privilege as a cisgender white woman do not represent the diverse experience of womanhood, the emotions that her writing evokes and the experiences of her characters have a universal appeal. At a promotional Max Minerva’s event held at St George’s Church in Bristol, Alderton herself acknowledged that while the events or her life may not feel familiar to everyone, she aims to write about topics like love, heartbreak, friendships and growing up that everyone experiences, regardless of their background. Underpinning all of her works is an exceptional talent for writing realistic characters experiencing the joys and miseries of everyday life that readers can see themselves reflected in.