The Stargazers

A captivating, magical love story with a breathtaking twist

By: Harriet Evans

Narrated by: Beth Eyre

The dark, dramatic and compelling new novel from the Sunday Times Top Five bestselling author and two-time Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

Harriet Evans returns with a tale of the infinite possibilities of families - how they can anchor you or unseat you - and why unconditional love holds the key to true freedom. A must for lovers of Kate Morton, Lucinda Riley and Santa Montefiore.

How can you ever know yourself when you were deprived of love as a child?

It's the 1970s, and Sarah has spent a lifetime trying to bury her disjointed childhood, the loneliness of her school days, and Fane, the vast and crumbling family home so loved - and hated - by her mother, Iris, a woman as cruel as she is beautiful. Sarah's solace has been her cello and the music that allowed her to dream, transporting her from the bleakness of those early years to a new life now with Daniel, her husband, in their noisy Hampstead home surrounded by bohemian friends and with a concert career that has brought her fame and restored a sense of self.

The past, though, has a habit of creeping into the present, and as long as Sarah tries to escape, it seems the pull of Fane, her mother, and the secrets of the generations hidden there, are slowly being revealed, threatening to unravel the fragile happiness she enjoys in the here and now. Sarah will need to travel back to Fane to confront her childhood and search for the true meaning of home.

Deliciously absorbing and rich with character and atmosphere, The Stargazers is the story of a house, a family, and the legacies of childhoods fractured through time and inheritance.

Praise for Harriet Evans' captivating and twisty stories . . .

'Bewitching, beguiling and utterly beautiful' VERONICA HENRY'
'Gorgeous, gothic and gripping' RED
''Taut as a drumskin and thrumming with tension' HEAT
'Rich and sweeping . . . dark and delicious' DAILY MAIL

(P) 2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd©2023 Venetia Books Limited

Critic reviews

Delightfully romantic and deliciously escapist

Immersive, engrossing and ultimately beautiful

A boldly sombre atmosphere haunts the latest novel by Harriet Evans, the doyenne of [commercial fiction]

The Stargazers is a gorgeously sweeping novel, so beautifully written, with characters - and an old stately home - that linger long after you turn the last page. I loved it

A crumbling stately home named Fane is among the evocative settings conjured up in this intricate, darkly romantic novel

The beguiling settings, the unforgettable characters and the thread of danger that runs through this brilliantly crafted plot sent it straight into my favourite books of all time. No one except Harriet Evans writes books like this anymore; The Stargazers is a work of genius and a future classic

A book to get truly lost in. A book that will capture your heart. Magical and transporting - I didn't want it to end

Totally engaging, undeniably beautiful and unputdownable. With characters that will weave their way into your soul with a setting that captures the imagination, this is a story that is both heartbreaking and life-affirming in the best possible way

A gripping, atmospheric, multi-layered epic to get lost in

An immersive, beautifully written family saga which already feels like a classic