Essex Serpent author Perry moves to Jonathan Cape

Hannah Westland, publishing director at Jonathan Cape, has acquired Enlightenment and Gildenberg, two new novels by Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent (Serpent’s Tail).

Westland acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Jenny Hewson at Lutyens & Rubinstein in her first acquisition for Jonathan Cape. North American rights have been sold to Kate Nintzel at Mariner, Harpercollins US. Enlightenment will be published in May 2024.

It is described as “a story of love, faith and astronomy, told over the course of 20 years through the lives of two improbable best friends".

"Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh, and worship at Bethesda Baptist chapel" the synopsis says. "Though separated in age by three decades, they are kindred spirits –torn between their commitment to religious faith and their longing for something more. But their friendship is threatened by the arrival of love: each meets an outsider that brings promise of a different kind of life."

The publisher said: “This ambitious novel is rich in symmetry and symbolism, full of ideas about love and faith and science, and has an absorbing historical mystery at its heart. It is Sarah Perry’s finest work to date.”

Westland said: “I have worked with Sarah Perry on every one of her novels; everything she writes surprises me, delights me, and teaches me things I didn’t know – about the wider world and myself. Her talent and intellectual curiosity know no bounds, and these two new novels are more dazzling than anything she’s ever written. I am thrilled she is joining us at Jonathan Cape and can’t wait to publish Enlightenment next year.”

Perry said: “I’m so pleased to be bringing Enlightenment into the world. I think everything that is most dear to me is here —love, faith, science, Essex and the moon!—and I hope readers will come to love Thomas and Grace as much as I have loved them. And it’s hugely exciting to be coming to Jonathan Cape for these next two novels, while continuing such a long and wonderful relationship with my editor.’”

Hannah Telfer, managing director at Vintage, added: “Sarah Perry is a literary star like no other, a true storyteller who invites us to see and question the world in new ways while introducing us to characters we never want to leave behind. It is thrilling to welcome Sarah to Jonathan Cape and Vintage where our ambition for her next two novels is boundless.”