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In a sinisterly skewed version of England in 1979, thirteen-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Each day the boys must take medicine to protect themselves from a mysterious illness to which many of their friends have succumbed. Children who survive are allowed to move to the Big House in Margate, a destination of mythical proportions, desired by every Sycamore child. Meanwhile, in Exeter, Nancy lives a secluded life with her parents, who never let her leave the house. As the government looks to shut down the Sycamore homes and place their residents into the community, the triplets’ lives begin to intersect with Nancy’s, culminating in revelations that will rock the children to the core.
Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a spellbinding novel from one of our greatest storytellers: a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.
‘It's early, but we're calling it: this is the book of the year.’ —The Spinoff
‘The Book of Guilt is phenomenal. I couldn't put it down.’ —Claire Mabey, RNZ
‘We are lucky to have a writer like Chidgey who can throw open history, reshape it, and spin a compelling, sparkling narrative that not only entertains but acts as a warning.’ —Stephanie Johnson, Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books
‘The Book of Guilt is a propulsive and accessible read, cleverly peppered with hints and clues.’ —Josie Shapiro, Kete Books
‘The author’s ability to hint that all is not as it seems while concealing a very dark truth is compellingly evocative of Ishiguro and quite as masterful.’ —Anne Green, Good Reading Magazine
‘Mary Shelley would be proud.’ —Stefan Brazulaitis, Books+Publishing
‘Tense, compelling, genre-fusing.’ —Emma Neale, The Listener
‘Chidgey brings the core of her mystery closer to the surface until, suddenly and unsettlingly, all is laid bare... If you're anything like me, you will race through this book in a single, breathless sitting.’ —Jay Gilbert, Literary Review UK
Praise for Catherine Chidgey
‘Chidgey again displays her prodigious talent for psychological suspense and minutely evoking past eras . . . Faultless.’ —The Guardian
‘Chidgey is a find.’ —Times Literary Supplement
‘A lingering, haunting book, which belongs on the shelf with We Have Always Lived in the Castle or My Brilliant Friend – a landmark in the small but potent canon of contemporary novels about unusual girls reckoning with themselves and the world around them.’ —The New York Times
Catherine Chidgey is the author of In a Fishbone Church (1998), Golden Deeds (2000), The Transformation (2003), The Wish Child (2016), the 'found novel' The Beat of the Pendulum (2017), Remote Sympathy (2020), The Axeman’s Carnival (2022) and Pet (2023). Her novels have been published to international acclaim and have been shortlisted and won numerous prizes including, the Women’s Prize and, twice, the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. She lives in Cambridge and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.
Cover image: vintage 1950s Margate travel poster (Shawshots / Alamy Stock Photo)
Cover design: Todd Atticus
