Seascraper

By: Benjamin Wood

Narrated by: Benjamin Wood

Brought to you by Penguin.

*LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025*
*WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARDS FICTION AWARD 2025*
*WINNER OF THE WINSTON GRAHAM HISTORICAL PRIZE 2026*
*LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2026*


Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.
When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?
Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.
SEASCRAPER is a mesmerising portrait of a young man confined in by his class and the ghosts of his family's past, dreaming of artistic fulfilment. It confirms Benjamin Wood as an exceptional talent in British literature.


'It is a sensuous treat, this novel. So much care has been given to every detail – of shrimps and sea mists and sinkpits, of work and music. A language of the sea washes over every page' Ross Raisin, award-winning author of God's Own Country



'Seascraper is powerful, poignant and poetic. I can’t recommend it enough' Benjamin Myers, award-winning author of Cuddy
'Britain's answer to Donna Tartt' Sunday Times

'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel

'What a writer' Richard Osman

© Benjamin Wood 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critic reviews

A quiet, unassuming book about honest work and modest dreams, about sons and their duty, and those brief, wonderful moments when we glimpse the possibility of living a different life. Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written (Douglas Stuart)

One of the finest British novelists of his generation (Johanna Thomas-Corr)

Wood is up there with the very best... he packs more poetry into his opening paragraph than many a Booker-winner achieves in their entire oeuvre (Johanna Thomas-Corr)

The wonder of this book is how Wood delivers so much in a few words…Seascraper reads like the forging of a new myth: one about how an alternative life is possible, and may even be starting to happen inside you already (John Self)

Wood conjures wonders from this unlikely material in a tale so richly atmospheric you can almost taste the tang of brine and inhale the sea fog (Jude Cook)

Seascraper is powerful, poignant and poetic. I can’t recommend it enough (Benjamin Myers, award-winning author of Cuddy)

Seascraper shimmers, salt-flecked and rippling. It swells with tense, memorable moments... poignant, authentic and hopeful.

It is a sensuous treat, this novel. So much care has been given to every detail – of shrimps and sea mists and sinkpits, of work and music. A language of the sea washes over every page (Ross Raisin, award-winning author of God's Own Country)

Benjamin Wood has been quietly building a reputation for intricate yet impressively distinct novels, and Seascraper might be the most fully formed yet…What Wood does brilliantly here is grapple with the push and pull of family duty, work, upbringing and the possibility of an entirely different life’ Ben East, Observer (Ben East)

a wrong-footing and enormously compelling coming-of-age narrative (Anthony Cummins)

Fantastic book and performance

Just listen to it. You won't be sorry. There are a few surprises in the audiobook.

Great Book! Even better audio.

A wonderful book with lyrical prose. The audio edition is beautifully enhanced, with the songs set to music and sung, making it an especially rich experience.

Haunting, raw and yet, gentle.

I loved the atmospheric narration of this story. I loved the music. I think the main character’s voice is exceptional.