The Betrayals

If everything in your life was based on a lie
Would you risk it all to tell the truth?

At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has changed since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu’s highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he’s sure they have never met before.

Both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls…

Review
‘Dizzyingly wonderful… a perfectly constructed work of fiction’ The Times

‘Another sumptuous act of imaginative world-building… If you’re looking for an absorbing, transporting work of fiction – and why would you not be? – The Betrayals is just the thing… settle in, and enjoy getting lost in this captivating book’ Observer

‘Ingenious… Collins’s story holds everything up its sleeve for as long as possible’ Guardian

‘The Betrayals is a beautiful dystopian romance about coming of age as an artist and the love affair artistic collaboration can be, while also being an acute political novel about the fate of spiritual values in a totalitarian system. A rich delight’ Sandra Newman

‘Captivating’ Daily Mirror

‘An immersive, imaginative slice of storytelling’ Daily Express

‘It’s just beautiful – written with such elegance and poise. What I love about Bridget’s books is her ability to write the most magical worlds of escapism and yet anchor those worlds very much in today’ Joanna Cannon

‘She’s done it again: this is another triumph from the incomparable imagination of Bridget Collins. The Betrayals sinks its teeth into you and won’t let you go. It’s a mesmerising, intimate and ambitious story about art, love and what it means to be human. If you loved The Binding, you’ll adore The Betrayals’ Erin Kelly

‘More lavish magical escapism from the unit-shifting author of The Binding’ Irish Independent

‘A unique, unexpected and beautifully unsettling story… gorgeously beguiling and totally addictive’ Joanna Glen, author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope

‘Brilliant… a captivating, imaginative tale’ Woman & Home

‘A storyteller of rare imagination… This intricate symphony of a novel is both a disturbing portrait of fascism and a soaring meditation on artistic expression’ Mail on Sunday

About the Author
Bridget Collins trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art after reading English at King’s College, Cambridge. She is the author of seven acclaimed books for young adults and has had two plays produced, one at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. THE BINDING is her first adult novel.