An extract from The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
‘He sometimes thought she was the kind of person who might choose to bring the house down simply to find out what kind of noise it made’
A masterful, page-turning examination of the minutiae of life and a dazzling chronicle of the human heart
December 1962, the West Country.
Local doctor Eric Parry, mulling secrets, sets out on his rounds, while his pregnant wife sleeps on in the warmth of their cottage. Across the field, funny, troubled Rita Simmons is also asleep, her head full of images of a past life her husband prefers to ignore. He’s been up for hours, tending to the needs of the small dairy farm where he hoped to create a new version of himself, a project that’s already faltering.
But when the ordinary cold of an English December gives way to violent blizzards, the two couples find their lives beginning to unravel.
Where do you hide when you can’t leave home? And where, in a frozen world, can you run to?
The Land in Winter was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025.
Author photo © Rob McDougall
Andrew Miller
About the Author
Novelist Andrew Miller was born in Bristol and currently lives in Somerset, UKIn beautifully atmospheric prose, Andrew Miller brings suspense and mystery to this seemingly inconsequential chapter in British history
— The Booker Prize 2025 judges
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What the judges said
‘In the depths of Britain’s coldest winter, two neighbouring women forge a friendship in the countryside. It’s 1962 and they have both just become pregnant. Around them, the men are struggling: maimed by father figures, haunted by the past, hampered by the destructiveness of their own desires. As a winter storm wreaks havoc on their lives, these characters become pivotal figures in a community precariously balanced between history and future: between the damage wrought by the war and the freedom for women that lies ahead. In beautifully atmospheric prose, Andrew Miller brings suspense and mystery to this seemingly inconsequential chapter in British history.’
What the critics said
Martin Chilton, Independent
‘The Land in Winter is a brilliant novel, but wrap your emotions up tight because Miller steers it expertly towards a desolate, distressing ending.’
Rachel Seiffert, Guardian
‘Andrew Miller is a master of nuance, expert at exploring the various chambers of the human heart… in The Land in Winter, Miller turns to the difficulty of loving in an unlovely world.’
Lucy Scholes, Financial Times
‘This is a quiet book about quiet lives, but the delicate attention Miller affords his characters’ inner lives makes for incredibly satisfying reading.’
Other nominated books by Andrew Miller
In Andrew Miller’s third novel, four people reach a turning point - and each is forced to take part in an act of liberation
