Books by Jonathan Harvey

Filled with Jonathan Harvey's trademark wit, warmth and outrageous humour, The History of Us is a novel about friendship and secrets, the choices we make and the consequences we face.Liverpool 1985Kathleen, Adam and Jocelyn are three teenage friends who bond over an unconventional nativity play. They all have ambitions, they all have dreams. Adam wants to be a writer, Jocelyn wants to sing and Kathleen - well, she wants to be an embalmer.London 2015 Kathleen is a borderline alcoholic, Adam is holding on to a shocking secret and Jocelyn is dead. Where did it all go wrong? How did having the world at their feet turn into having the weight of it on their shoulders?

Tony's ready to live-it-large and love again. But his efforts to step back on to the scene are hampered by a secret his friends, Monica and Kevin, should have told him long ago. This play is a funny and caustic exploration of love and the limits of friendship.

London 2014. Holly Smith has never fitted in. Adopted when just a few months old, she's always felt she was someone with no history, the girl who just appeared. All she has is the address of where she was born - 32B Gambier Terrace, Liverpool. By a bizarre twist of fate Holly discovers that the flat is available to rent. She travels north and moves in. When she finds a biscuit tin full of yellowing papers under the floorboards, she wonders if this might hold the secret to her past. Liverpool 1981. Fifteen-year-old Darren negotiates life with his errant mother and the younger brother he is bringing up. When the Toxteth Riots explode around him Darren finds himself with a moral dilemma that will have consequences for the rest of his life. Flitting between the present and the past, we discover how Darren and Holly's lives become intertwined. Will Holly uncover the secrets of her past? Or will she always feel like the girl who just appeared?

Hello. There are two things you should know about me: 1) My name is Karen Carpenter. 2) Just before Christmas my boyfriend left me. I'm not THE Karen Carpenter. I just have the most embarrassing name in Christendom. Particularly as I'm no skinny minny and don't play the drums. I can't even sing. I'm tone deaf. I work in a school in the East End. (Where I came third in a 'Teacher we'd most like to sleep with' competition amongst the Year 11 boys) My Mum's driving me mad. She's come to stay and is obsessed with Scandi crime shows and Zumba. Oh yeah. The boyfriend. After eleven 'happy' years he left me. No explanation just a post it on the kettle when I got in from work. I think I'm handling it really well. I don't think I'm confused at all. What was my name again?

Jonathan Harvey has worked with the Royal Court and National theatres, written the sitcom "Gimme Gimme Gimme" for television and collaborated with the Pet Shop Boys, writing the words to their musical "Closer to Heaven". This book contains three of his plays.

'Laugh out loud' Marian Keyes 'Hugely Enjoyable' Kathy Burke There are some things in life you can always rely on. Living in the shadow of your 'perfect' brother Joey, getting the flu over Christmas, and your Mother showing you up in the supermarket. Then there are some things you really don't count on happening: a good dose of fame, getting completely trashed at an awards ceremony, and catching your fella doing something unmentionable on your wedding day. This is my story, it's dead tragic. You have been warned... Jodie Xx

Jonathan Harvey's most popular plays collected in one volume for the first time

Thamesmead is a tough estate for Jamie and Ste to grow up on, with Jamie's mother's latest unlikely boyfriend and Ste's violent, alcoholic father. This screenplay explores the flowering of love between the two boys on their South London estate as they discover their homosexuality.

An hilarious comedy set on a South London council estate. When a young schoolteacher accepts an invitation from one of his pupils to a birthday party, little does he suspect that both the girl's mother and her uncle will spend the evening desperately trying to get him into bed.

A group of friends are trying to come to terms with the death of a friend from AIDS. The play addresses their emotions and also those of the dead man as he explores the afterlife.