What to read to understand toxic female friendships

Three books that explore the darker side of intimacy between women

Harriet Said… by Beryl Bainbridge (1972)

There have been many tales written about female friendship – dependable, reliable, fiercely loyal. But, to me, it is much more appealing to read (and write) stories where the relationship is slightly skewed, the power balance not quite right. Beryl Bainbridge’s first novel Harriet Said… is a troubling tale of two adolescents – ostensibly friends – navigating summer holidays while preoccupied with their appearance and their appeal to the opposite sex. Replete with casual misogyny and the objectification of girls, conveyed through the filter of an unnamed narrator, this is a story of its time but no less meaningful for that. Bainbridge paints a picture of a relationship where a gradual accumulation of control culminates in tragedy, and reveals the gap between teenage pretence at maturity and the dangerous naivety of adolescence.

Death and the Seaside by Alison Moore (2016)

Here we meet Bonnie Falls, the unwitting and accidental focus of an unhealthy interest from her manipulative and unscrupulous landlady, the deliciously named Sylvia Slythe. As with all of the Booker prize-shortlisted Alison Moore’s work, there’s the sense of something sinister lingering in the shadows, its presence felt but not seen. Behavioural science and nominative determinism are threaded brilliantly through this novel, and a seam of wryly dark humour enlivens what is a remarkable and disturbing tale.

Ava Anna Ada by Ali Millar (2024)

Millar’s debut novel features a voyeuristic teen who first encounters her neurotic influencer neighbour kicking her dying dog on the lawn of her opulent house. Located on the coast where the Watchers are awaiting the Wave, this tense dystopian novel is set against a background of climate breakdown, which sets the tone for a claustrophobic tale of a brutal intimacy that blossoms over the course of a single week.

Lucie McKnight Hardy’s new novel, Night Babies, is published by John Murray (£18.99). Order a copy from The Observer Shop. Delivery charges may apply

Photography by Alamy