Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

Set in 1964, this novel follows Del and Dinah Newman and their two sons, Guy and Shep. For twelve seasons, the Newmans had been America’s most popular TV family, but now their ratings are in free fall, and sponsors are abandoning the show. While they have been playing flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves on screen since 1952, their perfection now feels out of touch in the turbulent 60s.

Their real-life family is falling apart behind the scenes. Del, the powerhouse writer and director of the show, has been keeping a big secret from his wife, and he is now in a coma after a car accident. His wife, Dinah, is slowly going numb, both physically and emotionally, as she sees their carefully constructed life falling apart in front of her eyes.

Their eldest son, Guy, seems the most stable of them all, but he is hiding a massive secret about his love life and is frustrated that he can’t follow his dream of directing. And youngest son Shep, who is also a music recording star, is about to turn 18, and his life is now completely out of control, a haze of parties and girls.

In desperation, Dinah brings on board Juliet, a young female reporter, to help write the final script. But Juliet has very different ideas about what it is to be a woman in 1964.

Can the Newmans change television history, or will they be cancelled? And in the real world, can their family survive what is happening behind the scenes?

Meet the Newmans is brilliant. It is full of heart and humour, and is also very moving. It is simply unputdownable.

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Pan Macmillan