"A moving and poignant, yet comic, story with such affecting characters it’s hard to stop reading"
This is one of those books that you can’t help but fall in love with. An experienced radio playwright, Rachel Joyce's debut novel is a moving and poignant, yet comic, story with such affecting characters it’s hard to stop reading – rather like the journey the central character Harold takes. And it all starts with a simple letter… wonderful.
One of the Richard and Judy Spring 2013 Book Club selections.
Winner of the Specsavers National Book Awards 'New Writer of the Year' 2012.
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012.
| Primary Genre | Family Drama |
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'You'd think it should be the simplest thing. Walking. Just one foot in front of the other. But it never ceases to amaze me how complicated things can be.'
Harold Fry never meant to be a hero. An ordinary man in an ordinary life, until a letter from a long-lost friend sends him out the front door… and he keeps on walking.
Strangers turn into companions, kindness appears in unexpected places, and the road reveals more than Harold ever imagined. Back home, his wife Maureen begins her own journey, one that might bring them together again.
Funny, profound and uplifting, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a joyous celebration of the human spirit, adapted by Rachel Joyce from her multi-million-selling novel, with music and lyrics by the chart-topping musician Passenger.
Originally commissioned by Chris Harper Productions, it was first performed in a critically acclaimed, sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2025. The production transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, in 2026, directed by Katy Rudd, starring Mark Addy and Jenna Russell.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry features in the following genres: Book Club Recommendations, Debut Books of the Month, Debuts, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations, Family Drama, General Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Fiction
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was written by Rachel Joyce and published by Nick Hern Books
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry has 96 pages
Yes it is part of NHB Modern Plays series
£9.89
