The Make-Believe

Name: The Make-Believe
Price: 55 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781529155211

A memoir of magic and madness

Hannah Murray

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English

Hutchinson Heinemann
28 June 2026

Memoirs

From the actor in Skins and Games of Thrones, a deeply intimate, shockingly honest memoir about acting, fame, mental illness and the struggle to leave a cult-like organisation whose belief in magic shattered Hannah's reality.

In 2017, Hannah Murray was a successful actor whose career had taken her to Hollywood and given her the opportunity to act with A list stars and Oscar-winning directors. But as the daily costs of acting grew, from the degradations of auditions to repeating violent scenes over and over, Hannah found herself searching for something to make her feel better. One day, a reiki healer promises her a new kind of treatment, a kind of magic, and all of a sudden Hannah's life is changed.

Back in London, she becomes increasingly involved with the organisation behind the magic, an organisation whose charismatic leader, promises of secret knowledge, and increasingly complex rituals, are seductive, cult-like - and ultimately destructive, as Hannah finds herself on a week-long course from her friends and family - and her sanity falls apart. Detained in hospital, she struggles to understand the difference between what's real, and what's imagined. The result is a propulsive, shockingly honest, and extraordinarily intimate portrayal of a mind taken over the edge.

From the outer edges of fame, through Hollywood film sets and London parties, Hannah's life has slowly moved from that of a successful starlet to that of a young woman seduced by the magical thinking of an organisation that promises health and happiness beyond her wildest dreams, but her reality becomes far more disturbing than she could ever have imagined.

Shocking, intimate and compulsive, The Make-Believe is an ultimately uplifting and inspiring story of empathy, resilience and the power of belief.

By: Hannah Murray
Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781529155211
ISBN 10: 1529155215
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 28 June 2026
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Hannah Murray worked as an actor for over a decade, starring in E4's Skins and HBO's Game of Thrones. She studied English at Cambridge University and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. The Make-Believe is her first book.

Reviews for The Make-Believe: A memoir of magic and madness

An extraordinary memoir - propulsive, immersive; like nothing I have ever read before. I read it in one day and thought about it for weeks afterwards. -- Dolly Alderton The Make-Believe is a page-turning and generous book that is intensely concerned with what it means to be human. Hannah Murray is a masterful storyteller. -- Rebecca Watson I was deeply moved and compelled by this vital, brave, memoir. Murray’s account of her experience is intensely open-hearted and lyrical, depicting just how porous the boundaries and realities of our lives can become. A stunning achievement. -- Sophie Mackintosh A mind-blowing memoir, exquisitely told. * Red Magazine * A memoir of real literary power that wields a writer's full toolkit, with finger-biting dramatic irony, vivid sensory evocation and pithy statements of uncomfortable truth. The premise is fascinating, but her execution is what makes this story uniquely compelling. -- Naoise Dolan