My personal allocation of Dear Neighbour paperbacks is now sold out. But can still buy your print, digital or audiobook editions everywhere else that books are sold.

Five strangers. Four weeks. One letter that will change everything…

My debut novel tells the story of Alice, a single mum living in Leeds, her next-door neighbour Bill, a widower still grieving his wife’s death a decade earlier, and the other residents of their street. It’s a novel about surviving austerity, the power of community and found family, and the real definition of home.

About the book

Alice is a working hard to provide for her daughter, Mollie. But as a single mum in Leeds:, a city she feels increasingly estranged from, it’s a challenge.

Bill has lived on Leodis Street for eighty years. It’s where he was born, began his married life and eventually cared for his wife in her final days. Now his home is a place of solitude, his talisman against an unrecognisable world.

When the residents of Leodis Street are threatened with eviction, Alice decides to make a stand. As she reaches out to her neighbours and learns about their lives, she discovers that she might already live next door to the friends she has been seeking. Perhaps together they can build a community to be proud of and discover the true meaning of home.

What readers say…

“Dear Neighbour is a love letter to the power of community. Told through the eyes of a nuanced, diverse and infinitely lovable cast of characters, this uplifting and spirited book shows us what people can achieve when they pull together. A joy to read.” ELEANOR RAY, author of Everything is Beautiful

“I didn’t just enjoy it – I loved it. The story gripped me from the start. I felt for all the characters – especially grumpy old guy Bill and even grumpier teen Jessie. The themes spoke to me: finding strength and friendship in unlikely places, and the importance of standing together when everything seems hopeless. Especially when everything feels hopeless. By the end, I couldn’t put it down and had to finish it in one sitting.” – ROSIE GARLAND, author of What Girls Do in the Dark

“Jane Claire Bradley has created a neighbourhood so real, I felt part of it. Dear Neighbour tells a story that reminds us of the importance of tolerance, cooperation, and local mutual aid even – or especially – in the face of vast, structural challenges. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is a novel for our times.” CLAIRE ASKEW, author of All the Hidden Truths

‘A heartwarming and beautifully written book that made me cry in public. All the characters were so well realised that I felt like I actually knew them all in real life’

‘A moving read on an emotional subject of home and community, and what that means for people’

‘The story was moving and Bradley manages a large cast of characters really well . . . An excellent book club book’

‘This book gave me so many different emotions! From the first chapter I was thoroughly invested in the lives of the Leodis Street residents. Funny, at times heartbreaking, at others I’m not afraid to admit I shed a few tears’

‘Heartwarming tale of lonely neighbours who come together to protest against their homes being demolished, finding friendship and a real sense of community’