The Newer World by Sebastian Barry (out 8 September 2026)

An immersive, sweeping and unforgettable novel of one man's life in the aftermath of the American Civil War.

I knew as I made my way home that there was no home. All the old things . . . were gone forever.

Against this rapidly shifting landscape, Tennyson Bouguereau - freed man, devoted brother, nascent singer, conflicted soldier and wanted man - journeys to find meaning and belonging. From the relative safety of home in Tennessee with his sister Rosalee, he is offered the possibility of a whole new life in Nashville, until a surprising trip to Victorian England changes everything.

Exquisitely rendered, and with a rich cast of characters,The Newer World is a lyrical, visceral novel about what it is to survive, and what might be lost along the way.

'A masterly work of historical witness and moral reckoning' - OBSERVER, Fiction to look out for in '26

'His work reminds us how much we need these rare gifts of the natural storyteller' - TESSA HADLEY

'There's a beautiful looseness to the novel, almost a wildness, the mark of a true, natural storyteller. It's easily among his best works'Â - KEVIN BARRY

'Barry records a life between worlds, in tender, elegiac prose. This is the novelist at his best: a masterly work of historical witness and moral reckoning' - ALEX PRESTON, Observer, 'Fiction to Watch in 2026'

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMESÂ BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OLD GOD'S TIMEÂ