"Set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, this remarkable historic novel tells a hauntingly beautiful tale of rebuilding lives, family bonds, race and humanity."
Richly characterful and raw, with touches of magic, Jayne Anne Phillips’ Night Watch is a sublime story of recovering from trauma. Fans of immersive historic fiction are sure to fall for this treasure hook, line and sinker.
Set in 1874, with the strains and brutalities of the Civil War looming large over countless lives, twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother, Eliza, are taken to a lunatic asylum by a war vet. Eliza hasn’t uttered a word for a year, so they’ve come for her to be healed, with ConaLee playing the part of her maid.
In time, Eliza makes progress, as mother and daughter become enmeshed in asylum life and the folks they meet there, among them the man known as Night Watch, a child called Weed, and the kindly doctor who practices “Moral Treatment”. At the same time, we discover their poignant family history, and learn about ConaLee’s father who never returned from the war. Above all, we learn about survival, rebuilding and endurance.
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024'A haunting story of conflict with hope at its heart' Daily Mail'A tour de force - breathtaking in both its scope and intensity' TAYARI JONES'Shatteringly particular and audaciously universal' ALICE RANDALL'Excellent... Phillips has brought a little more of this foundational American episode into the light' GUARDIANIn the wake of the Civil War, twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year, arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. Delivered to the hospital by a war veteran known to ConaLee as Papa, mother and daughter are soon swept up in the life of the facility and its characters: the night watchman who lost his eye in battle, the child called Weed, the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen, and the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution. There, far from family and the mountain home they knew, ConaLee and Eliza try to reclaim their lives, and uncover identities lost, hidden or unknown. Night Watch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2024 on 6 May 2024
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024'A haunting story of conflict with hope at its heart' Daily Mail'A tour de force - breathtaking in both its scope and intensity' TAYARI JONES'Shatteringly particular and audaciously universal' ALICE RANDALL'Excellent... Phillips has brought a little more of this foundational American episode into the light' GUARDIANIn the wake of the Civil War, twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year, arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia.
Night Watch features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Family Drama, General Fiction, Fiction
Paperback, Hardback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
Night Watch was written by Jayne Anne Phillips and published by Fleet an imprint of Little, Brown
Night Watch has 304 pages
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
