The Newer World

An immersive, sweeping and unforgettable novel of one man's life in the aftermath of the American Civil War. I knew as I made my way home that there was no home. All the old things . . . were gone forever. Against this rapidly shifting landscape, Tennyson Bouguereau - freed man, devoted brother, nascent singer, conflicted soldier and wanted man - journeys to find meaning and belonging. From the relative safety of home in Tennessee with his sister Rosalee, he is offered the possibility of a whole new life in Nashville, until a surprising trip to Victorian England changes everything. Exquisitely rendered, and with a rich cast of characters, The Newer World is a lyrical, visceral novel about what it is to survive, and what might be lost along the way. 'A masterly work of historical witness and moral reckoning' - OBSERVER , Fiction to look out for in '26 ' His work reminds us how much we need these rare gifts of the natural storyteller ' - TESSA HADLEY 'There's a beautiful looseness to the novel, almost a wildness, the mark of a true, natural storyteller. It's easily among his best works' - KEVIN BARRY 'Barry records a life between worlds, in tender, elegiac prose. This is the novelist at his best: a masterly work of historical witness and moral reckoning' - ALEX PRESTON, Observer, 'Fiction to Watch in 2026' FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OLD GOD'S TIME