The Mermaid of Black Conch

A daring, mesmerising novel that continually unseats expectation - I was deliciously unsure, throughout, what would happen next. With her fierce and shapeshifting mermaid, Roffey has created a modern myth about belonging and the bonds humans form with each other and with their land, single-handedly bringing magic realism up to date – Maggie O’Farrell, No.1 bestselling author of HamnetI absolutely devoured The Mermaid of Black Conch. It’s wonderful, immersive, evocative… A masterclass of world-building – Bridget Collins, No.1 bestselling author of The BindingOnce I had started it, I couldn’t stop. It was quite unlike anything I’d ever read. Such brilliant myth-making; such powerful storytelling – Clare Chambers, author of Small PleasuresAbout wonder, spectacle, as well as greed. The writing is exquisite – Elizabeth Macneal, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Doll Factory and Circus of WondersA reading experience as captivating as a tropical storm. Full-throated and mesmerizing – C. Pam Zhang, Booker-longlisted author of How Much of These Hills is GoldBighearted … Sentence by sensuous sentence, Roffey builds a verdant, complicated world that it is a pleasure to live inside … A fairy tale. But it is a ghost story too * New York Times *Sensuous, beguiling … Roffey’s tale convincingly transplants a mythical creature into a modern setting … Wondrous * Sunday Times *Wonderfully written, with both soul and intense drama - it glistens almost, like the mermaid! – Diana Evans, author of Ordinary PeopleStunning … A mesmerising read – Nathan Filer, Costa-winning author of The Shock of the FallExtraordinary, beautifully written … We found it completely compelling … It feels like a classic in the making – Costa Judges, 2020

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and lives in London. She is the author of seven novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize. Her other highly acclaimed books include Archipelago, which won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and House of Ashes. In addition to her work as an environmental activist, she is a professor of contemporary fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University.