The anticipation for the release of Anatomy of a Scandal has just intensified with the Netflix release of the trailer for the show.

To the dark strains of an Elephant Music mixed Heads May Roll, it builds to a startling climax of James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend) screaming his denial of rape, and features hints of Oxford debauchery as well as political posturing and the painful implosion of a marriage.

I think it’s utterly brilliant - and, three days in, it’s already had almost half a million views.

Privilege is about to be put on trial, it proclaims - while the poster for the show puns: “Not everyone is entitled to the truth.”

The theme of entitlement - which I, and the director SJ Clarkson, have been adamant is at the heart of the story - was flagged up by Sienna Miller at a Netflix event to showcase the streamer’s forthcoming highlights.

In quotes picked up by the Daily Telegraph, she said: “It deals with privilege in a way that we are seeing unravel daily in our Government. It really is very close to the bone. It’s art imitating life. It’s exciting. We do live in a country that’s not really a meritocracy a lot of the time; where if you had access to education of a certain standard and calibre, and go through the motions, you have aspirations of being in government. And we’re seeing it - they [members of the Government] are all friends.

“I mean, make up your own minds. Watch it and then read the newspapers and see what you think.”

She also spoke about how compulsive she found the script, and alluded to her experience of extreme media attention when her then partner Jude Law admitted to having an affair with his children’s nanny. “I got sent the script and all six episodes came through, which can be really overwhelming. I read the first one, then I couldn’t stop reading all of them. It felt instantly like something I’d want to make and something that people would really want to watch.

“I was excited to play somebody who deals with not dissimilar things that I very publicly dealt with and who responds in different ways.

“What would a [person’s] response be to some terrible behaviour? It felt meta and weird and uncomfortable.”

As pre-publication plans go, getting covid less than a fortnight until a book comes out is far from ideal - so please excuse the brevity of this post, and the blurriness of the above picture, snatched from a belated book unboxing video. With three days to go, I am playing bad catch-up here…

But I wanted to list the various events - many online but some which will be happening in real life - to celebrate my fifth novel, and third thriller, Reputation.

First, though is a link to a Guardian feature I did on Reputation, Anatomy of a Scandal and the zeitgeisty nature of my thrillers. I took voluntary redundancy from that paper 13 years ago, so it felt wonderful to be back in its pages - even if I wasn’t writing the story. (And that was hard! Never interview a journalist seems to be the consensus, and I can see why.)

I’ve also chatted to Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar, to Radio Leeds, and - tonight - to Times Radio; to the Sunday Session in New Zealand, and the Australian Sisters in Crime podcast. (I’m assured I’m not incoherent in that one, but I’m bright red as I had a fever, so please excuse that!) I’ve just recorded a podcast for Blood Brothers, to come on pub day, and there are several further podcasts, including Book Off! and In Suspense Podcast lined up.

But here are the events, with links attached.

Reading Party Event on March 2, 7pm. A read along to celebrate publication eve of Reputation. Tickets from £2.

Griffin Books - digital launch of Reputation. I did an event for Anatomy of a Scandal 3 years ago at this Penarth bookshop and am delighted to be talking to Mel virtually here.

Suffolk Libraries on March 7, 7pm. Free to support Suffolk Libraries Day.

Leeds library on March 10, 6pm, as part of the British Library’s Breaking the News exhibition.

Warwickshire libraries event - Tuesday 22 March, 7.30pm. Free. I did an event with Costa novel winner Claire Fuller in December with these organisers and over 400 people attended online.

Crawley Wordfest: Bar at the Noir - Wednesday 23rd, 7pm. Free.

Heffers, Cambridge, with Kate Rhodes. £7 entry including soft drinks and fizz.

Plus various zoom events for the Women in Law bookclub, among others, and a super exciting real-life literary festival event I’ll be sharing as soon as I can. Hope to see some of you virtually, if not in person.

It’s just 3 weeks until Reputation, my political thriller/courtroom drama, is published and from having had too little news to share, I suddenly have rather a lot of it. Hot on the heels of last week’s announcement of the Anatomy of a Scandal release date and photos, comes the news that the dream team behind this adaptation hope to turn Reputation into a TV series, too.

Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories and Liza Chasin’s 3dot productions have “optioned” my fifth novel in what Deadline, the Hollywood news site, has described as our “reteaming.” Two Hollywood studios, Endeavor Content and Anonymous Content, are signed up and I’ll executive produce alongside Bruna and Liza and Made Up Stories’ Steve Hutensky and 3dot’s Margaret Chernin, too. An “option” doesn’t mean something will definitely be produced – the chances of that happening are always very slim – but, given the terrific job they’ve done with Anatomy, it’s hard not to be hugely optimistic and excited about this news.

Reputation is about a Labour MP who finds herself accused of murder when a tabloid journalist with whom she’s been entangled is found dead in her home. But it’s really about misogyny and the pressures women face – in person and on social media – as they navigate their way through public life. 

 I wrote it while giving notes on various drafts of the scripts for Anatomy of a Scandal, and feel the new thriller benefitted enormously as a result. So I’m completely thrilled that Bruna and Liza loved it, too. As they put it: “Sarah has crafted a gripping, addictive and timely political thriller that explores the pressure put on women in positions of power. We fell in love with the characters and world and are delighted to be teaming up again with Sarah to bring her masterful new book to life.”

Phew!

With news of a TV option, perhaps it’s fitting to share this terrific trailer, created by S&S, my publishers:

You can preorder signed copies from Waterstone’s via this link, or of course online or from your local independent bookshop, and I’d be incredibly grateful if you wanted to do so. Or – if you’re in the Whitley Bay area on Saturday – I will be talking about it, live, for the very first time. The first Bay Tales live show at the Whitley Bay playhouse has a few tickets left, here. It will be my first event for two years so I’m both a little anxious, and excited to be back, talking to readers about plots, twists and why I write.  If you’re in the area, I’ll be chatting with fellow S&S thriller writers Louise Candlish, Russ Thomas and newcomer Kate Ruby, and would love to see you.

Well - the news is out. I can finally spill the biggest secret of my publishing career and reveal that Netflix’s Anatomy of a Scandal will drop on 15th April 2022, (Good Friday or the start of Passover.)

The six-part series could not be more deliciously timed, as the themes of entitlement and rule-breaking unfurl here in the UK, at the heart of government.

And the press have been delighting in the parallels between real life and what Harper’s dubbed your “next big Netflix binge”.

“Could there be a more perfect series for the current political climate of distrust, scandal and intrigue?” asks Tatler, before pointing out that “Westminster scandals are de rigeur for the 2020s”.

Glamour magazine adds: “The show is set to give us all the gritty British political drama we could hope for, since it’s set in Westminster and explores the skeletons of a UK MP and the influence of power and privilege (sound familiar?)”

Netflix also released seven stills of the leads, including the top image showing Sienna Miller and Rupert Friend transformed into a golden couple before their life implodes, and the above, of them arriving at the Old Bailey for government minister James Whitehouse’s trial.

My favourite character, Kate Woodcroft, is seen, brilliantly portrayed by Michelle Dockery, while below, here’s a glimpse of her opponent Angela Regan, played with the utmost authority by Josette Simon:

Meanwhile, the parliamentary aide with whom James has an affair, and who then accuses him of a crime - Olivia Lytton - is played by Aladdin’s Olivia Scott.

They’re seen here flirting, but it’s not that long before he’s in the dock of the Old Bailey, London’s central criminal court:

And throughout it all, his wife Sophie (Sienna Miller) supports him, though as she does so, she starts to question herself.

“Sex. Power. Privilege. Based on Sarah's addictive book, the show tackles entitlement, truth and the boundaries of consent,” said the show’s scriptwriters David E Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Undoing, Ally McBeal) and Melissa James Gibson (House of Cards), in a statement about the show, which is directed by SJ Clarkson. “It's been a joy to partner with Netflix on this and see SJ bring it to such a rich and nuanced life.’

Sienna Miller added: "I was a huge fan of the book and of my character Sophie. She is multi-faceted and facing the consequences of the decisions she has made in her life of privilege, that are catching up with her. I loved the arc and journey she embarks on and was thrilled to be part of such a talented cast and crew.”

I could not be more thrilled that this is happening. Filming started at the start of November 2020 and continued into April 2021, so my anticipation has been immense! Obviously I’m biased, but if you enjoyed the book, I think you’re in for a treat. And if you’re intrigued by the plot, you can always read Anatomy of a Scandal before it launches, or - if you want to avoid spoilers but to read another political thriller about power and judgement, preorder my new political thriller/courtroom drama, Reputation. Thank you!