Kingsolver's next novel to speak to 'our troubled times'

Faber is set to release a "major" Barbara Kingsolver novel later this year, entitled Unsheltered.

Editorial director Louisa Joyner acquired UK and Commonwealth Rights from David Grossman.

Set in both 2016 and 1871, the novel follows Willa Knox, a woman who stands braced against the vicissitudes of her shattered life and family, and Thatcher Greenwood, a new science teacher, who is a fervent advocate of the work of Charles Darwin, who is keen to communicate his ideas to his students. But those in power in Thatcher’s small town have no desire for a new world order. Thatcher and his teachings are not welcome.

Both Willa and Thatcher resist the prevailing logic. Both are asked to pay a high price for their courage.

"A testament to the power and goodness of the human spirit, Unsheltered explores the foundations we build, crossing time and place to give us all a little more hope in those around us, and a little more faith in ourselves", said the publisher, calling it "a novel for our troubled times".

Kingsolver said: "We’re living through a scary historical moment when the most basic agreements about who we are as citizens, and how we’ll succeed in the world, are suddenly unraveling. It isn’t the first time. People are such interesting animals. Unsheltered speaks to these moments, and uses the lens of unravelings past to ask where we might be headed."

Joyner called the work "signature Kingsolver", describing it as "exquisite, brave, funny, political and intimate".

Faber said Kingsolver was "one of the most important voices ​of our time". She has written 14 works of fiction and non-fiction and won the Orange Prize for The Lacuna (Faber) in 2010. Her novel Flight Behaviour (Faber) was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2013. 

The novel will be released on 18th October 2018.