The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Cusk, Rachel. Second Place. Faber & Faber, 2021.

The narrator tells her story in its entirety to someone called “Jeffers,” an unknown addressee (1). The novel begins with the narrator recalling her experiences in Paris as a young woman, when she discovered the work of the artist, “L” (10). After many years of unhappiness, she settled in a remote marshland location with her second husband, Tony. They constructed a guesthouse which they refer to as their “second place” (18). Despite never having met him, she wrote to L inviting him to be their next guest, hoping that he would find inspiration in the scenery and signing herself “M” (18). They corresponded for about a year before L came to stay, by which time M’s daughter Justine was there too, with her boyfriend Kurt.

L brought a young woman called Brett along with him. M found Brett annoying and intrusive, while L spent most of his time at the second place, rarely socializing with the family in the main house. He avoided M, and antagonized her every time they met. Instead of painting the marsh he worked on portraits, but he declined to paint M.

Brett had a positive influence on Justine, who became more outgoing and less reliant on Kurt. L advised Kurt to win her back by becoming a writer. One evening, Kurt read out a long, largely plagiaristic sample of the novel he was working on, and L humiliated him for it.

L finally agreed to take on M as a subject, and she defied Tony by rushing off for the occasion in her wedding dress. When she got to the second place, she saw L and Brett painting a warped biblical scene all over the walls, viciously making fun of her in their depiction of Eve. Tony left for a few days.

L had a debilitating stroke, but continued living at the second place in the care of his hosts. Brett left, and so did Kurt. Justine helped L with his work, and the art that he produced from this time was sensationally popular. Before M could find a way to get rid of L, he made his way in secret to Paris, where he died.