Welcome to Britain, where politeness is law and a smile can save your life.
Thirteen-year-old Alfie Hawthorne has learned how to survive. Keep your head down. Say the right thing. Never raise your voice. In a country run by the Ministry of Manners, politeness isn’t just expected – it’s enforced. Alfie’s sister Margot doesn’t fit so neatly. She asks questions, she speaks up, and when she’s taken to a Manners Retreat – a smiling correctional camp where “impolite tendencies” are reshaped – Alfie is forced to choose between obedience and love. His search for Margot pulls him towards the Unsilenced, a resistance that still dares to speak freely. But the Ministry has plans that go far beyond control. Plans that could make rebellion, and even independent thought, impossible. What happens when the only way to be heard… is to misbehave? The Ministry of Manners is published by Piccadilly Press and will be released on 7 May 2026. Citizens are reminded to queue in an orderly fashion.
