For fans of Conversations with Friends and Vladimir comes a magnetic, fresh take on marriage and loyalty: when two married professors tiptoe toward infidelity, their transgressions are brought to light in a graduate student’s searing thesis project.

Simone is the star of Edwards University’s creative writing department: renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist, and campus sex icon. Her less glamorous and ostensibly devoted husband, Ethan, is a forgotten novelist and lecturer in the same department. But when Ethan and the department administrative assistant Abigail have sex, Simone and Ethan’s faith in their flawless marriage is rattled.

Simone has secrets of her own. While Ethan’s away for the summer, she becomes inordinately close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta “Robbie” Green. In Robbie, Simone finds a new running partner, confidante, and disciple—or so she believes. Behind Simone’s back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor’s marriage in a breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis. Determined to tell her version of the story, Robbie paints a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, Abigail, and even herself, scratching at the very surface of what may—or may not—be the truth.

"The most fun I have had with a novel in years. Seduction Theory breathes new and mesmerizing life into the campus novel and the marriage plot to produce a book so enjoyable that reading it felt almost decadent."―Megan Nolan, author of Acts of Desperation and Ordinary Human Failings

"With sparkling wit and striking formal ingenuity, Emily Adrian's Seduction Theory gives vibrant new life to the marriage-in-crisis novel. I was completely hooked from the first page, and couldn't sleep until I finished it."―Andrew Martin, author of Early Work

"A ferociously clever, funny and compulsive read. Seduction Theory is an absolute gift of a novel, playing with form and expectation in the most exhilarating ways. It's by far and away my favorite book of the year - and probably next year, too."―Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall

"So emotionally honest, clever, and sexy, I really enjoyed Seduction Theory." ―Charlotte Mendelson, author of Wife and The Exhibitionist

“Emily Adrian's Seduction Theory is so classy, so cool and so funny. You'll pick it up and find yourself five hours later putting it down finished. It's completely insightful about midlife and marriage, and propulsive too.”―Naomi Wood, author of Mrs. Hemingway

"If you want your beach candy with a side of brain food, Adrian's incisively original campus drama is the perfect bite-size feast. It’s juicy, yes, but also a sharp, aching interrogation of where we draw the line of betrayal and the stories we tell about our relationships and ourselves."―Charley Burlock, Oprah Daily

"A book that is actually just as fun as it sounds... A little bit postmodern, a little bit sexy, and quite funny indeed, you will feel both smarter and more indulgent than usual while you're reading it." ―Emily Temple, Lit Hub

“[A] terrifically inventive matryoshka doll of a novel….It’s a tender portrait of an enviable marriage balanced by a delightfully smarmy tone with laugh-out-loud passages of humor….A masterful exploration on the varieties of truth, and the stories we craft about ourselves.”―Kirkus, starred review

“A sophisticated ivory tower drama... with a persuasive, entertaining voice tinged with scorn and wicked humor. [Merges] fact and fiction to craft a story that is, at its core, a breathtaking act of betrayal.”  ―Shelf Awareness

“I love novels set in the claustrophobic world of academia. From Albee and Amis to Russo and Jonas, trapping frustrated adults and barely-adults together is always a recipe for exploding characters’ egos and foibles. This novel, which explores the rippling fallout from infidelity in a long-standing faculty marriage, promises to be another addition to the canon.”―Nicola Kraus, author of The Nanny Diaries