Away with the Penguins
Read an extract
Play sample
  • Published: 5 January 2021
  • ISBN: 9781784164249
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

Away with the Penguins

Formats & editions
EBook
5 Mar 2020
Audiobook
5 Mar 2020
Paperback
5 Jan 2021
Buy from…
Amazon Booktopia Dymocks QBD Readings Your Bookstore Abbeys Boomerang Find local retailers Find local retailers Collins Fishpond Gleebooks Harry Hartog Kinokuniya Robinsons The Nile Mighty Ape

A truly feel-good book club read, a #1 bestseller in ebook and audio!
Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .
A BBC Radio 2 Book Club and Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

A truly feel-good book club read - a #1 bestseller in ebook and audio!

'This year's Eleanor Oliphant . . . Funny, bittersweet and wholly original.' Daily Express


Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she's never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach ('people who litter the countryside should be shot'), trying to locate her glasses ('someone must have moved them') or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen ('Eileen, door!').

Veronica doesn't have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she's going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.


'I love this gorgeous book. Unflinching, stubborn, funny and moving, Veronica is an unlikely heroine who will sneak in and capture your heart.' Trisha Ashley
  • Published: 5 January 2021
  • ISBN: 9781784164249
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

About the author

Hazel Prior

HAZEL PRIOR lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger cat. As well as writing, she works as a freelance harpist. Her wonderful debut novel, Ellie and the Harp-Maker, is now available in paperback.

portrait photo of Hazel Prior

Also by Hazel Prior

Gone with the Penguins
Life and Otter Miracles
Call of the Penguins
Ellie and the Harpmaker
See all

Praise for Away with the Penguins

I love this gorgeous book. Unflinching, stubborn, funny and moving, Veronica is an unlikely heroine who will sneak in and capture your heart.

Trisha Ashley

A warm and witty journey of self-discovery. Prior proves that it’s never too late to become the person you were meant to be.

Wendy Wax, bestselling author of MY EX-BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING

A warm-hearted and life-affirming tale about ageing, human kindness, old-fashioned values and protecting our planet.

Culturefly

This year's Eleanor Oliphant . . . Funny, bittersweet and wholly original.

Daily Express

A glorious, life-affirming story. I read it in a day. I’m going to buy it for so many people this year!

Clare Mackintosh

A touching, uplifting tale.

Jo Wiley, Radio 2 Book Club

Love is not simple; it is the most complex of all the experiences we encounter. Caring for an orphaned penguin liberates the love Veronica had withheld for decades. At the age of eighty-six, the world is all at once at her feet. I commend this novel as a work of art, written in a prose so fluent that it all but reads itself to you. And the creation of the character of Veronica, just by itself, deserves high praise.

Robert Hillman, author of THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN HEARTED

Discover more

Article
Away with the Penguins book club notes

Pick a feel-good book club read this month.

penguin pop image
penguin pop image