A Tender Thing

Listed in the Theater category on Art In Fiction, A Tender Thing (2020) is Emily Neuberger’s debut novel. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Eleanor O'Hanlon always felt different. In love with musical theater from a young age, she memorized every show album she could get her hands on. So, when she discovers an open call for one of her favorite productions, she leaves behind everything she knows to run off to New York City and audition. Raw and untrained, she catches the eye of famed composer Don Mannheim, who catapults her into the leading role of his new work, "A Tender Thing," a provocative love story between a white woman and black man, one never before seen on a Broadway stage.   As word of the production gets out, an outpouring of protest whips into a fury. Between the intensity of rehearsals, her growing friendship with her co-star Charles, and her increasingly muddled creative--and personal--relationship with Don, Eleanor begins to question her own naïve beliefs about the world. When explosive secrets threaten to shatter the delicate balance of the company, and the possibility of the show itself, Eleanor must face a new reality and ultimately decide what she truly wants. “An ode to New York, and to Broadway, and to an era long gone, A Tender Thing is a wonderful confection of a book. It’s a stirring and assured debut.” –Joshua Henkin, author of Morningside Heights and The World Without You Emily Neuberger’s writing has appeared in Joyland, The Common, The Sun, Solar, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. She graduated from NYU with a degree in music and writing, and received her MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. Currently, she lives in Brooklyn, where she writes, teaches fiction, and runs a workshop for other writers.  Buy Now from Amazon Buy Now from Bookshop