Gloria Don't Speak

An electrifying, singular debut novel about a minimally verbal woman in working class London who falls in with a volatile man, leading to an act of violence that upends her life.

"A young London woman with an intellectual disability narrates Apps's striking debut...Apps offers a sympathetic view into Gloria's mind, and the plot gets its energy from Jack, a loner whose grievances, driven by poverty, bring about his downfall. The author sets a difficult challenge for herself and pulls it off with surprising success." -- Publishers Weekly

It's 1999, and Gloria has finished school for good. She spends her days wandering the streets and parks, watching the boys play football and the girls share cigarettes, and making sure she gets back before Mum is home, so she don't worry about Gloria too much. She tries to entertain herself and stay out of trouble. But mostly she goes round with Jack.

Jack, who takes walks with her, who plays the radio and smokes out the window, who gives her Cokes from the fridge. Jack, who stirs feelings in her that are new and compelling. Jack who talks a lot about the breaking point that's coming, how everything is bound to snap when the year 2000 arrives. Gloria don't always know what he means, but Jack always talks and he likes her to listen, which is good, because Gloria don't speak much. This is the world - hot days and rainy ones, fat chips and cold sodas, long, ambling walks - until one day, despite all his predictions, Jack breaks before the world does. That late summer evening and the violence it brings stops time and changes Gloria forever.

A work of profound and moving empathy, Gloria Don't Speak is a heartbreaking portrait of a remarkable but vulnerable woman, the sanctuary she tenuously cultivates, and her fight to exist in the world after her safety is ripped away.

Lucy Apps was born in East London, trained as a doctor, and now works as a GP. She volunteers with women with learning disabilities. Gloria Don't Speak, her debut novel, was longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction.