Set in the Orthodox Jewish community in North West London, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman is the poignant and humorous story of nineteen-year-old Chani Kaufman and the lead-up to her wedding night.

Nineteen-year-old Chani lives in the ultra-orthodox Jewish community of North West London. She has never had physical contact with a man, but is bound to marry a stranger. The rabbi’s wife teaches her what it means to be a Jewish wife, but Rivka has her own questions to answer. Soon buried secrets, fear, and sexual desire bubble to the surface in a story of liberation and choice; not to mention what happens on the wedding night.

Eve Harris was born to Israeli-Polish parents in Chiswick, West London, in 1973. She taught for twelve years at inner-city schools in London and also in Tel Aviv, after moving to Israel in 1999. She returned to London in 2002 to resume teaching at an all girls’ Catholic school. Her debut Man Booker Prize longlisted novel, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman, was inspired by her final year of teaching at an all girls’ ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in North West London. She lives in London with her husband, Jules, and their daughter Rosie.

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