$37.99
2 in stock
2 in stock
It’s the summer of 1939. London is on the brink of catastrophic war. Iris Hawkins, an ambitious young woman in the stuffy world of City finance, has a chance encounter with Geoff, a technical whizz at the BBC’s nascent television unit.
What was supposed to be one night of abandon draws her instead into an adventure of otherworldly pursuit – into a reality where time bends, spirits can be summoned, and history hangs by a thread. Soon there are Nazi planes overhead. But Iris has more to contend with than the terrors of the Blitz. Over the rooftops of burning London, in the twisted passages between past and present, a fascist fanatic is travelling with a gun in her hand.
And only Iris can stop her from altering the course of history forever.
‘What a joy! A novel with endless ingenuity and enormous heart.’ – Kaliane Bradley
‘One of the finest prose stylists of his generation.’ – The Times
‘My God can he write.’ – Richard Osman
Format: Paperback
Pages: 496
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Publication date: 03/03/2026
Nonesuch
By Francis Spufford
Review by Renata
This is another ambitious and riotously playful outing from the genre-bending Spufford. It's both a gritty, atmospheric and well-researched evocation of London in the Blitz, and a wild, magic-fuelled adventure complete with giant blue angels and sinister, enslaved monsters. In less competent hands, this mash-up of genres and ideas could get unwieldy fast, but Spufford juggles all the elements with style. The emotionally complex relationships aren't treated as an afterthought as they are in some fantasy, resulting in storytelling that compels on multiple levels. Spufford is clearly having a very good time and his enjoyment is infectious.
For fans of Spufford's Cahokia Jazz, and the work of Elizabeth Knox.
Note: this is part one of a duology, with the sequel currently underway.
