Endgame in Westminster with Philip Hensher - Summer Reads 2026

Set in the shadowy, ornate corridors of Britain’s Parliament, “Kitchen Venom” by Philip Hensher is a sharp, addictive portrait of power at its breaking point. As a formidable Prime Minister faces her final days in office, secrets, excess, and quiet betrayals ripple through the lives of those around her, by day polished and controlled, by night unraveling. Drawing on Hensher’s insider experience, this is a bold, scandal-tinged, must-read summer novel that pulls back the curtain on the human drama behind political power. Philip is also the author of the forthcoming “ A History of the Novel in Britain,” to be published by Princeton University Press in Spring 2027.