Belle Burden, whose memoir Strangers became a number one bestseller, talks about marriage, betrayal and rebuilding a life with Pandora Sykes.
Belle Burden, whose memoir Strangers became a number one bestseller in America, talks about the book at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea on Monday 16 November 2026. The journalist Pandora Sykes hosts the conversation.
Burden was born in New York City. She studied at Harvard College and took a law degree at NYU, and she now works as a pro bono immigration lawyer for children.
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage tells of the end of her marriage in New York society. Its account of money, betrayal and modern marriage has drawn praise from some readers and sharp criticism from others.
Netflix has bought the rights, with Gwyneth Paltrow attached to produce the adaptation and to play Burden. On stage Burden talks about the years since publication and the work of rebuilding a life after betrayal, then takes questions from the audience.
Sykes writes the culture newsletter Books+Bits and was a voice of The High Low podcast. She has published two books, judged the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2022, and has interviewed Jacinda Ardern, Malala Yousafzai and Margaret Atwood on stage and in print.