The Luminaries

Irresistible, masterful, compelling. It has a gripping plot that is cleverly unravelled to its satisfying conclusion, a narrative that from the first page asserts that it is firmly in control of where it is taking us... The things that most impress are the cunning withholding of information, the elegant foreshadowing, the skilful looping back on the narrative -- Lucy Daniel, five star review * Telegraph * An immense feat of structuring and plotting which means that this novel starts as a gentle stroll and ends with the exhilarating sense of running downhill... Ambitious, intricate, spectacular -- Natalie Haynes * Independent * A breathtakingly ambitious mystery... Catton's playful and increasingly virtuosic denouement arrives at a conclusion that is as beautiful as it is triumphant -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail * Remarkable... A true achievement. Catton has built a lively parody of a 19th-century novel, and in doing so created a novel for the 21st, something utterly new. The pages fly, a world opening and closing in front of us, a human soul revealed in all its conflicted desperation [and] glory... Dazzling * New York Times * Every sentence of this intriguing tale is expertly written, every cliffhanger chapter-ending making us beg for the next to begin. [It] has been perfectly constructed as the consummate literary page-turner... Extraordinary -- Kirsty Gunn * Guardian * The Luminaries blew me away. Such a wild, strange world, such unforgettable characters, all brought together with such devilish charm and ingenuity. A novel like this from a writer so young gives me hope for the future of the artform. Stellar in every sense of the word -- Paul Murray, author * Skippy Dies * Sometimes - rarely - a novel arrives that is so good all you can do is shake your head in wonder. Brilliant in design, masterful in execution, and intensely pleasurable to inhabit, The Luminaries is a masterpiece, the work of a writer of apparently limitless range and talent -- Peter Hobbs, author * The Short Day Dying * A bold mixture of Victorian sensation novel and avant-garde constraint... Even on a fourth reading it still delivers -- Stuart Kelly, Books of the Year * Scotland on Sunday * Carefully executed, relentlessly clever, easy to read... Catton sustains a human comedy that sweeps through the hope, the mud, the lies and the secrecy underlying gold fever. It is not so much a morality play as an astute celebration of the power of the story -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times * [A] sweeping, sprawling tale... a triumph from a phenomenally talented young writer -- Best Books of 2013 * Stylist * A dense, intricate historical saga, criss-crossed with literary eccentricities... Wonderfully inventive -- Kate Saunders, Books of the Year * The Times * [A] cunningly design[ed] mosaic of tales -- Boyd Tonkin, Books of the Year * Independent * Slowly reveals a complex structure raising questions about fate, free will and the human search for meaning -- Justine Jordan, Books of the Year * Guardian * Intricately constructed... An accomplished work of traditional storytelling -- Isabel Berwick, Books of the Year * Financial Times * Incredible... virtuoso... You will devour [this book], only to discover that you can't find anything of equal scope and excitement to read once you have finished. Sheer rip-roaring readability -- Simmy Richman * Independent on Sunday * A virtuoso performance... [It] is resplendent: a twenty first century Victorian novel that couldn't be more original... Steeped in history, The Luminaries feels completely fresh... The literary firmament has birthed a new star * The Millions * Quite unlike anything I've ever come across, so graceful is its plotting and structure... A dazzling feat of a novel -- Lucy Scholes * Observer * A dream novel: stellar in every way -- Books of the Year * Economist * Expansive and quite superb... Catton writes with real sophistication and intelligence -- Lesley McDowell * Scotsman * This epic

ELEANOR CATTON was born in 1985 in Canada and raised in New Zealand. Her debut novel The Rehearsal garnered prizes and acclaim around the world, including the 2009 Betty Trask Award. It has since been published in 17 territories and 12 languages. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she also held an adjunct professorship, and an MA in fiction writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.