The Binding meets The Vanishing Half in this extraordinary historical debut - perfect for readers who love gothic mysteries with books at the heart of them, as well as stories about people often overlooked by history.

'Intriguingly and superbly plotted. Weaves race, identity, feminism, sexuality and class into a beguiling mystery' Woman & Home

Some secrets are too scandalous to conceal...

Since they left Jamaica for England, Florence's father has tried to tame her - from hot-combing her unruly hair to training her in the art of bookbinding. But when Florence brings scandal to his door, he throws her onto the streets.

Florence has nowhere to turn until, intercepting her father's commission to restore a private library, she talks her way into the remote, imposing Rose Hall. There, even the wonders of Lord Belfield's library can't distract Florence from the whisper of scandal around the late lady of the house and her black maid.

Then one night, someone breaks into the library - yet strangely, they take none of the priceless tomes. Discovering a half-burned diary in the fireplace, Florence holds the key to a mystery that will reshape everything she knows about herself, and shake Rose Hall to its very foundations . . .

'Swells with secrecy and intrigue' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
'A love letter to the golden age of Du Maurier and Bronte. Lyrical, beguiling and powerfully relevant' Juno Dawson, author of Her Majesty's Royal Coven
'If this book's a thief of anything - it was of my attention. I was hooked' Cari Thomas, author of Threadneedle
'Powerful and wholly original' Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure
'Gut-wrenchingly conveys a unique historical perspective on race, gender and sexuality. [For] fans of Sarah Waters and Bridget Collins' Library Journal
'I was blown away' Stacey Thomas, author of The Revels
'Atmospheric, compelling Victorian gothic with a fresh twist' Freya Berry, author of The Birdcage Library

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2022
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2022

From one of our greatest living writers comes a sweeping novel of unrequited love and exile, war and family.

The Magician tells the story of Thomas Mann, whose life was filled with great acclaim and contradiction. He would find himself on the wrong side of history in the First World War, cheerleading the German army, but have a clear vision of the future in the second, anticipating the horrors of Nazism.

He would have six children and keep his homosexuality hidden; he was a man forever connected to his family and yet bore witness to the ravages of suicide. He would write some of the greatest works of European literature, and win the Nobel Prize, but would never return to the country that inspired his creativity.

Through one life, Colm Tóibín tells the breathtaking story of the twentieth century.
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'As with everything Colm Tóibín sets his masterful hand to, The Magician is a great imaginative achievement -- immensely readable, erudite, worldly and knowing, and fully realized' Richard Ford

'No living novelist dramatizes artistic creation as profoundly, as luminously, as Colm Tóibín . . . reading him is among the deepest pleasures our literature can offer' Garth Greenwell

'This is not just a whole life in a novel, it's a whole world' Katharina Volckmer

NOMINATED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2023

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023
A Reese's Bookclub December Pick (2022)
An Instant Sunday Times, New York Times and Irish Times Bestseller (August 2022)
A Guardian and LitHub Book of the Year (December 2022)

'Every bit as evocative and spellbinding as Hamnet. O'Farrell, thank God, just seems to be getting better and better' i newspaper

'Her narrative enchantment will wrest suspense and surprise out of a death foretold' Financial Times

'Ingenious, inventive, humane, wry, truthful . . . better than her last novel' Scotsman

'Finely written and vividly imagined' Guardian

'In O'Farrell's hands, historical detail comes alive' Spectator
Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her.
Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence's grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.

What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival.

The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.

**SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM STARRING HELENA BONHAM-CARTER**

FROM THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE GALLOWS POLE COMES A POWERFUL NEW NOVEL
A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
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‘A book that always feels like summer’ The Times

‘What a radical thing, these days, to have written a book so full of warmth and kindness ... Gorgeous’ - Max Porter, author of Lanny

‘Glorious ... Leaves an indelible impression ... A moving and subtle novel in many ways, infused with a love of the minute pleasures in life, and the lasting regrets’ – Scotland on Sunday
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One summer following the Second World War, Robert Appleyard sets out on foot from his Durham village. Sixteen and the son of a coal miner, he makes his way across the northern countryside until he reaches the former smuggling village of Robin Hood’s Bay. There he meets Dulcie, an eccentric, worldly, older woman who lives in a ramshackle cottage facing out to sea.

Staying with Dulcie, Robert’s life opens into one of rich food, sea-swimming, sunburn and poetry. The two come from different worlds, yet as the summer months pass, they form an unlikely friendship that will profoundly alter their futures.
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An i Book of the Year
A Reading Agency Book of the Year
A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick
A BBC Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime'
An Observer Pick for 2019