Sarah Moss: Ripeness [2026]

The perfect book club spring read from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

In 1960s Italy, a family secret rips a teenage girl's world apart, only for her to discover its true meaning decades later.

'Moss makes every moment count' - The Sunday Times
'A book of lasting pleasures' - Eleanor Catton, Booker Prize-winning author of The Luminaries
'Powerful and beautifully written' - The Guardian

Just out of school and teetering on the brink of adulthood, Edith is sent alone to rural Italy. Her task is simple: support her sister Lydia, a brilliant but brittle ballet dancer, through the final weeks of her pregnancy. Once the baby is born, she is to make a phone call that will change all of their lives forever.

Decades later, Edith is living a contented life in Ireland, happily divorced and finally free. But with the arrival of an unexpected message, Edith must face the truth of that long-ago summer, and the secret she has carried for a lifetime.

'Tender and rueful' - Emma Donoghue, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Room
'A delicious novel' - Literary Review
'Sublime . . . glorious' - Vogue
'Luminous' - Financial Times
'Beautifully crafted . . . absorbing and moving' - Daily Mail