'Breathtaking, fascinating and believable.' Financial Times

'An exquisitely written gem.' Vogue

'Brilliantly perceptive . . . ruthlessly honest.' The Times





Ralph Loman is working in an unsatisfying job for a free London newspaper when Francine Snaith, a temporary secretary for a corporate finance firm, unexpectedly crosses his path at a party.





Her beauty ignites a blaze of excitement in his troubled heart. But Francine is ravenous for attention and driven by a thirst for conquest. When Ralph tries politely to extricate himself from her grip, he finds he is bound by chains of consequence from which it seems there is no escape.





Acutely perceptive and exquisitely honest, The Temporary paints a merciless portrait of the cut and thrust of modern life, work and romance.



Rachel Cusk is the author of Second Place (Prix Femina étranger), the Outline trilogy, the memoirs A Life's Work and Aftermath, and several other works of fiction and nonfiction, including her most recent novel Parade (Goldsmiths Prize, 2024). She is a Guggenheim Fellow, the recipient of the 2024 Malaparte Prize, and has been awarded the title of Chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres. She lives in Paris.