A Year of Marvelous Ways

By: Sarah Winman

Narrated by: Sarah Winman

The remarkably life-affirming novel from the highly acclaimed author of Still Life, set in 1940s Cornwall following the unlikely friendship between an eighty-nine-year-old woman at the end of her story and a young soldier, reeling from World War II, at the start of his own.

Marvelous Ways has lived alone alongside a winding creek near the rugged Cornwall coast for nearly all her life, and has recently taken to spending her days sitting on the steps of her caravan with a telescope. She is waiting for something, but she's not sure what. She will know when she sees it and that is good enough for her.

Francis Drake, a young soldier adrift after the death of a fellow comrade, is grateful for the mission that guides his days. He has agreed to fulfil his friend’s last wish: to hand-deliver a letter to his father in Cornwall. But Francis’s journey doesn't go as planned. After a brief, sweet, and serendipitous reunion with a woman from his past, Francis washes up in Marvelous's creek, broken both in body and spirit.

Marvelous will come to his aid, and an unlikely friendship will grow between these two solitary souls. Marvelous has lived a long life, with many loves and countless stories to tell, and Francis needs a reason to keep going—even just the hope that life still has more to offer.

A beautiful, bighearted story that bursts with the magic of what it means to grab hold of connection and purpose when it is right in front of you, A Year of Marvelous Ways is a testament to friendship and another timeless classic from the acclaimed Sarah Winman.

Critic reviews

Praise for A Year of Marvelous Ways:

“A gripping waiting game.” –The Guardian

“Beautiful prose that ebbs and flows” —The Independent

“A breathtaking reading experience . . . a beautiful book that is unafraid to reveal the ugliness of the world.” –Toronto Star

“Winman has a poet’s eye for nature and writes a beautiful line.” –Daily Mail

“One to read slowly so you can savor every beautiful sentence.” –Good Housekeeping,
(Book of the Month)

“A lavish and clever read which will stand the test of time” —Irish Examiner

“A Year of Marvelous Ways is like Dylan Thomas given a sexy rewrite by Angela Carter”
—Patrick Gale, author of Rough Music