Natalie Fergie writes second novel for Unbound

Natalie Fergie has written a second novel set in Edinburgh for Unbound.

Co-founder and publisher of Unbound John Mitchinson has acquired world English language rights to 25 Library Terrace by Natalie Fergie from Charlotte Seymour at Johnson & Alcock. 

The book is described as the "long-awaited follow-up" to Fergie’s debut novel, The Sewing Machine, which was published by Unbound in 2017, selling 105,000 e-books and 22,000 paperbacks, according to the crowdfunding publisher. 

“The new book, also set in Edinburgh, is a moving, generous portrait of a specific house and a specific century, but also a reminder that however the external details of our lives might change, the things that matter stay the same: love, kindness, and good stories,” Unbound said. 

Fergie, a former nurse based near Edinburgh, said: "25 Library Terrace tells the stories of those living in a single Edinburgh house through times of great societal change. I think we are all curious about the people who lived in our homes before us: this novel imagines the answers to those questions." 

Mitchinson said: “An Edinburgh family saga shot through with social history, with a narrative that moves from the Empire Palace Fire of 1911, the tragedies of the First World War, the rise of suffragettism and early vegetarianism, through the austerity of the Depression to a world of smart phones, digital nomadism, social media, Covid and the recipes of Ottolenghi. Through it all the house — 25 Library Terrace — acts as a physical focal point, changing just enough to stay the same. 

“All that is reason enough to love this book, but what really draws the reader in is more subtle and subversive: 25 Library Terrace is a book about women – quiet, strong, determined women who grasp their own destiny and help other women to grasp theirs.” 

Seymour said: "I’m thrilled to see Natalie reunited with Unbound and excited to see what new heights they will reach, building on the success of Natalie’s debut which became a word-of-mouth bestseller.”