Elmet

Fiona Mozley’s gripping debut about life on the margins in the wilds of Yorkshire and the power - and limits - of family loyalty. "A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable" (The Economist).

"...a dark, rich, timeless fable… We come to read with mounting dread, bracing ourselves for a devastating conclusion. [And] Mozley doesn’t disappoint … Elmet is bleak but beautiful, earthy yet airy."  -  Malcolm Forbes, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

They lived apart from others in the house that Daddy built for them with his bare hands. They foraged and hunted. When they were younger, Daniel and Cathy had gone to school. But they were not like the other children then, and they were even less like them now. Local men, greedy and watchful, began to circle like vultures. All the while, the terrible violence in Daddy grew.

"Debut novels especially can sometimes too clearly betray their debts, but Elmet is a beguiling patchwork of influences held together by Mozley’s distinct voice ... In its signposting and pacing, Elmet promises a reckoning, and we get one... despite the book’s frequent attention to realistic details, it is securely situated in fable territory, and Mozley’s sheer storytelling confidence sends the reader sailing past almost every speed bump."  -  John Williams, The New York Times Book Review

Longlisted for the 2018 Women's Prize For Fiction

Fiona Mozley grew up in York and lives in Edinburgh. She was 29 years old and working part-time in a bookshop when she started Elmet, her tale of family, land and conflict, typing it into her phone while commuting. Elmet won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Polari Prize. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Dublin Literary Award and the International Dylan Thomas Prize.