- Published: 11 February 2025
- ISBN: 9780241529959
- Imprint: Michael Joseph
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 384
- RRP: $34.99
Good Dirt

















- Published: 11 February 2025
- ISBN: 9780241529959
- Imprint: Michael Joseph
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 384
- RRP: $34.99
Charmaine Wilkerson transports you across the decades and the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters.
Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of <i> Carrie Soto is Back </i>
Charmaine's writing is subtle and lyrical
Beth Morrey, bestselling author of <i> Saving Missy Carmichael </i>
Unputdownable. Astonishing. Twists and turns so shocking they will leave your head spinning and your heart aching
Grazia on Black Cake
An extremely assured debut which pulls in threads and echoes from across the Caribbean diaspora to deliver a rich, complex and really satisfying novel
Alison Finch, BBC Radio 4 on Black Cake
Black Cake explores the ways we use meals not just to nourish ourselves but to help tell unspeakable stories . . . A roiling soup of family secrets, big lies, great loves, bright colours and strong smells
New York Times on Black Cake
I loved the brilliant writing, the characters and the clever and beautiful way the story melded together. A stunning book
Prima on Black Cake
A remarkable exploration of family bonds, grief, heartbreak, friendship, and the deep scars of slavery and racism... Wilkerson’s prose is succinct yet richly evocative, masterfully delving into the minds and motivations of her characters and delivering a narrative that lingers long after the final page... This novel solidifies Wilkerson's place as one of the great multi-generational storytellers of our time.
Abi Daré, bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice
Good Dirt is a mystery that weaves together multi-generational strands of past and present trauma, from West Africa to Long Island Sound, from the 1800s to the present. Written in glittering and discerning prose, poignant yet hopeful, Good Dirt is a masterful character study exploring the stories we inherit and how the past informs the present. I loved it. Brava, Charmaine.
Nikki May, author of Wahala and This Motherless Land
Stunning. For readers of Brit Bennett and Celeste Ng, Charmaine Wilkerson’s powerful exploration of loss, enslavement, freedom, and the complexities of not only America’s history but America’s present is heartbreaking and tender and so wise. GOOD DIRT is exquisitely crafted with passages that are poignant, yet full of hope. I LOVED this story and the many characters that peopled it. Book clubs are going to go wild!
Charlene Carr, author of Hold My Girl and We Rip The World Apart
PRAISE FOR CHARMAINE WILKERSON
-
A beautiful and intertwining novel that will capture your heart. With a family heirloom at the heart of the story, it has rich characters and a powerfully complex tale spanning through generations.
Sophia Spiers, author of The Family Home
Wilkerson has done it again! This immersive, triumphant, important tale of our roots, our history, and the pain we carry with us absolutely took my breath away.
Ishi Robinson
Charmaine Wilkerson transports you across the decades and the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters.
Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of <i> Carrie Soto is Back </i>
Charmaine's writing is subtle and lyrical
Beth Morrey, bestselling author of <i> Saving Missy Carmichael </i>
Unputdownable. Astonishing. Twists and turns so shocking they will leave your head spinning and your heart aching
Grazia on Black Cake
An extremely assured debut which pulls in threads and echoes from across the Caribbean diaspora to deliver a rich, complex and really satisfying novel
Alison Finch, BBC Radio 4 on Black Cake
Black Cake explores the ways we use meals not just to nourish ourselves but to help tell unspeakable stories . . . A roiling soup of family secrets, big lies, great loves, bright colours and strong smells
New York Times on Black Cake
I loved the brilliant writing, the characters and the clever and beautiful way the story melded together. A stunning book
Prima on Black Cake
A remarkable exploration of family bonds, grief, heartbreak, friendship, and the deep scars of slavery and racism... Wilkerson’s prose is succinct yet richly evocative, masterfully delving into the minds and motivations of her characters and delivering a narrative that lingers long after the final page... This novel solidifies Wilkerson's place as one of the great multi-generational storytellers of our time.
Abi Daré, bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice
Good Dirt is a mystery that weaves together multi-generational strands of past and present trauma, from West Africa to Long Island Sound, from the 1800s to the present. Written in glittering and discerning prose, poignant yet hopeful, Good Dirt is a masterful character study exploring the stories we inherit and how the past informs the present. I loved it. Brava, Charmaine.
Nikki May, author of Wahala and This Motherless Land
Stunning. For readers of Brit Bennett and Celeste Ng, Charmaine Wilkerson’s powerful exploration of loss, enslavement, freedom, and the complexities of not only America’s history but America’s present is heartbreaking and tender and so wise. GOOD DIRT is exquisitely crafted with passages that are poignant, yet full of hope. I LOVED this story and the many characters that peopled it. Book clubs are going to go wild!
Charlene Carr, author of Hold My Girl and We Rip The World Apart
PRAISE FOR CHARMAINE WILKERSON
-
A beautiful and intertwining novel that will capture your heart. With a family heirloom at the heart of the story, it has rich characters and a powerfully complex tale spanning through generations.
Sophia Spiers, author of The Family Home
Wilkerson has done it again! This immersive, triumphant, important tale of our roots, our history, and the pain we carry with us absolutely took my breath away.
Ishi Robinson, author of Sweetness in the Skin
Charmaine Wilkerson has a superb talent for showing how contemporary characters’ lives are entwined with the past, creating a story that is rich in compassion and hope – and utterly engrossing.
Jo Leevers, author of Tell Me How It Ends
A beautifully crafted book that compels you to ponder on the importance and impact of family history and tragedies, and how the items we pass down, although they may seem insignificant to other's, are as precious as any jewel.
Rosanna Amaka, author of The Book of Echoes
What a beautiful and masterfully crafted story. I’m in utter awe of Charmaine. I found Ebby’s story just heartbreaking, but ultimately it left me thinking deeply about the process of healing from unspeakable pain and building the muscle of resilience... Charmaine is the real deal - she has SUCH a talent for every aspect of storytelling. I fell in love with her characters; I was gripped by her plot; I adore her words.
Harriet Constable, author of The Instrumentalist
A masterclass in storytelling, world-building and drawing characters who feel so real you can reach out to the page and feel them reaching back out toward you. Good Dirt is a searing portrait of grief, of death and life and the truth that one without the other does not exist, that to find new life does not always mean forgetting the past, but reshaping and rebuilding it and realising all the remarkable ways in which it can be reforged. Charmaine Wilkerson is a stunning writer, whose brilliance knows no adequate words, and whose characters will live long in my memory.
Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us
A writer of extraordinary gifts. She can capture the arc of a family story like none other. This kaleidoscopic novel of love, loss, and triumph will sit with you for a long time after you finish the last page
Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Take My Hand
A sensational intergenerational story about hidden heartbreak, hope, and the restorative power of embracing and sharing one's ancestry. A story not only told incredibly well, but most importantly, a pleasure to read.
Jessica George, author of MAAME
Good Dirt is one of the most moving, exquisitely written books I have read all year. It is a tale of resilience and hope, and Charmaine Wilkerson crafts characters to weep over and cheer for with a plot that consumes the reader and spans generations and continents. This book will be every reader's highlight of 2025.
Ethan Joella, author of The Same Bright Stars
A thoroughly researched and beautifully imagined family saga, with a moving and hopeful ending
New York TImes