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  • The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey book cover
  • The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey book cover
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The Wardrobe Department

by Elaine Garvey

Work, belonging, and a life left behind

$18.12 USD
$30.21 USD $18.12 USD
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Print BookAvailable Hardcover $23.08 USD$38.47 USD
Print BookCurrently viewing Paperback $18.12 USD$30.21 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

Work, belonging, and a life left behind

Mairead’s work in a struggling West End theatre is practical and often intimate: repairing shoes and zips, handwashing costumes, and navigating harassment and bullying backstage. The theatre job was meant to move her towards a long-imagined future, but her connection to Ireland remains unresolved. The description frames the novel around the tension between making a new life and confronting what was left behind, with the wardrobe department’s mending work offering a concrete thread through that conflict.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in contemporary Irish fiction and stories of migration or life between places.
  • For readers drawn to workplace settings and characters confronting harassment, bullying, and unresolved ties to home.

Themes

BelongingMigration and homeWorkplace harassment and bullyingConfronting the past

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A stunning debut examining the ache we all have to belong, from a major new literary talent

'Beautifully written' LOUISE KENNEDY
'Full of verve and wit and humanity' MARY COSTELLO
'Clever and original' TLS
'A tremendous new talent' KEVIN BARRY

Mairead works tirelessly in a run-down West End theatre's wardrobe department - mending shoes, fixing broken zips and even handwashing underwear. She must also sidestep groping hands backstage and withstand the relentless bullying of the show's producer.
The job was meant to be the first step towards the life Mairead has always wanted, and yet half of her remains back home in Ireland, along with everything she abandoned there.
A reckoning with the past is coming and, with it, the need to forge a new present - one stitch at a time.

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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

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Ella

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.