Starter For Ten
On sale
4th June 2026
Price: £10.99
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘Painfully funny’
ELLE
‘Hugely entertaining’
DAILY MAIL
‘Wincingly good’
TIME OUT
It’s 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition – to make it onto TV’s foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on ‘The Challenge’ than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress Alice Harbinson.
When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all: he’s going to win the game, at any cost. Because – after all – everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge . . .
‘Painfully funny’
ELLE
‘Hugely entertaining’
DAILY MAIL
‘Wincingly good’
TIME OUT
It’s 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition – to make it onto TV’s foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on ‘The Challenge’ than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress Alice Harbinson.
When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all: he’s going to win the game, at any cost. Because – after all – everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge . . .
Reviews
Brilliant ... made me blush with remembered agonies [of university life]
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny, Starter for Ten hits the spot time after time. Read this book
A toe-curlingly embarrassing and cleverly observed comedy ... it'll have you wincing and laughing simultaneously. Fabulous
A bittersweet coming-of-age tale ... Brian conjure[s] up strong echoes of one of that era's literary heroes, Adrian Mole ... A fine, funny book
Spry, affecting debut ... If it's possible to wince with your whole body, that broadly equates to my experience of reading it
Hilarious ... you won't be able to put it down
Painfully funny
Warm and funny ... Hilarious
Hugely (and deservedly) hyped ... Achingly funny
I laughed out loud, I cringed in recognition, and more than once I paused in admiration at an observation so wry, so on the money, I wondered why it had never occurred to me before. There have been many pretenders to the throne of Hornby; David Nicholls is his legitimate heir
For conjuring up all those cringeworthy moments of youth, this read is unrivalled
Relentlessly delightful
Absolutely fabulous ... brilliantly funny
Wonderfully written ... This is a lovely look back at a time when you were young enough to think that anything could happen
What a delight... David Nicholls is enormously talented, he has an exquisite eye for details, humour and the ridiculous and he deserves every ounce of the huge success he will undoubtedly have with this pleasure of a book
I absolutely loved Starter for Ten
Starter for Ten is the debut of the year; a recommendation repeated by all who come in contact with it ... Trust us, you'll love it
Nicholls' portrayal of student affectations is accurate and funny ... clever and well-written
A funny, touching novel reminiscent of the classic film Gregory's Girl with an authentic 1980s backdrop
Brilliant... we would recommend it to anyone
Starter for Ten is the debut of the year; a recommendation repeated by all who come in contact with it . . . Trust us, you'll love it
Clever and well-written . . . Nicholls' portrayal of student affectations is accurate and funny
A funny, touching novel reminiscent of the classic film Gregory's Girl with an authentic 1980s backdrop
Brilliant . . . we would recommend it to anyone
Nicholls delineates the whole university experience . . . But he does the serious bits well, too, and the fatherless teenager pulling himself up by his bootstraps, hopelessly out of his depth, is warmly evoked
Toe-curlingly embarrassing and cleverly observed . . . it'll have you wincing and laughing simultaneously. Fabulous
A bittersweet coming-of-age tale . . . A fine, funny book
Wincingly good . . . spry, affecting
Hilarious . . . you won't be able to put it down
Painfully funny
Warm and funny . . . hilarious
Hugely (and deservedly) hyped . . . Achingly funny
I laughed out loud, I cringed in recognition, and more than once I paused in admiration at an observation so wry, so on the money, I wondered why it had never occurred to me before
For conjuring up all those cringeworthy moments of youth, this read is unrivalled
Relentlessly delightful
Absolutely fabulous . . . brilliantly funny
Wonderfully written . . . This is a lovely look back at a time when you were young enough to think that anything could happen
What a delight . . . David Nicholls is enormously talented, he has an exquisite eye for details, humour and the ridiculous
I absolutely loved Starter for Ten
I laughed a lot
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny, Starter for Ten hits the spot time after time. Read this book
Hugely entertaining
Brilliant . . . made me blush with remembered agonies [of university life]
Highly engaging
This funny tale . . . will have you laughing out loud
Wonderful . . . Nicholls recreates all the cringingly embarrassing moments students endure on the university bandwagon - the wild parties, tentative friendships and romantic interludes - with superb powers of characterisation. It's a fun-filled trip down memory lane for all students, with more than a touch of pathos
I feel for Starter for Ten as I do for the pick'n'mix counter: nostalgic, giddy, happy, sick and then devastated when there is none left. I could not put this book down. I love it. Literally
A witty and entertaining exploration of the agonies and ecstasies of university life and working out who you are