A Tender Thing

By: Emily Neuberger

Narrated by: Emily Neuberger

An exhilarating debut novel set under the dazzling lights of late 1950s Broadway, where a controversial new musical pushes the boundaries of love, legacy, and art.

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 it is she truly wants.

Pulsing with the vitality and drive of 1950s New York, Emily Neuberger's enthralling debut immerses listeners right into the heart of Broadway's Golden Age, a time in which the music soared and the world was on the brink of change.

©2020 Emily Neuberger (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of Playbill's 11 Books for Theatre Lovers to Read in Spring 2020

"Debut author Neuberger...clearly knows the world she's depicting; she brings to life with nice historical detail the rehearsal milieu....Smart, savvy, atmospheric work from a promising new talent." (Kirkus Reviews)

“This period piece evokes the golden age of Broadway, from an author whose own performing background shines through. Historical details are well placed, and the characters are engaging….Readers of Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls or Fiona Davis’s The Chelsea Girls will enjoy.” (Library Journal)

“Emily Neuberger makes a smashing debut with this ode to 1950s Broadway, in which the fabled farm girl with big dreams finds herself in an altogether new story, rich with moral complication and unexpected twists. Neuberger portrays the midcentury theater world with conviction and authenticity, and creates a nuanced, unpredictable cast of characters that live on in the reader’s imagination long after the final page. A Tender Thing is that rare book that’s written from the heart, and still has something important to say about the human condition.” (Beatriz Williams, author of The Golden Hour and The Summer Wives)