JOIN / SIGN IN

Welcome to Hatchards Rewards

Earn a Rewards Stamp for every £10 you spend in our shops or online*

Every 10 Rewards Stamps you earn adds £10 to your Rewards Balance

Spend your Rewards Balance in our shops or online, with no minimum redemption*

*Exclusions apply, see full T&Cs for details.

Learn More

Fiction, General Fiction

The Offing

Benjamin Myers (author)

Paperback Published on: 05/03/2020

£9.99

19 reviews

Free UK delivery on orders over £25, otherwise £3.99

In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days

Make and edit your lists in your account

Check click & collect stock near you
Collect today: Pay in shop

In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days

Check click & collect stock near you
Collect today: Pay in shop

View other formats and editions

Bookseller Reviews

View all

Left me in bittersweet tears...

I have rarely had such a strong connection and reaction to a book as this – it had me immediately enraptured and I finished it in one sitting unable to tea... READ MORE

Kate at Sutton

A paean to natural beauty and fundamental human goodness

With each successive release, Benjamin Myers further establishes himself as one of the most gripping and intriguing contemporary British writers. Evoking t... READ MORE

Michael Perry at London

Gorgeous

This is the first Benjamin Myers novel I've ever picked up, and it was wonderful! The lyrical nature descriptions and discussions of art and poetry and edu... READ MORE

Mason at Oxford at Oxford

Overall, it made me really emotional, and I think that's what a good book should do.

A really really beautiful novel about finding your way in all stages of life amidst chaos and grief and all of those difficulties that make life that of hu... READ MORE

Dia Hunter at Pity Me, Durham

Synopsis

An Observer Pick for 2019

One summer following the Second World War, Robert Appleyard sets out on foot from his Durham village. Sixteen and the son of a coal miner, he makes his way across the northern countryside until he reaches the former smuggling village of Robin Hood's Bay.

There he meets Dulcie, an eccentric, worldly, older woman who lives in a ramshackle cottage facing out to sea. Staying with Dulcie, Robert's life opens into one of rich food, sea-swimming, sunburn and poetry. The two come from different worlds, yet as the summer months pass, they form an unlikely friendship that will profoundly alter their futures.

Publisher information

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781526611307
Number of pages: 272
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 18 mm
Weight: 192g
Languages: English

Customer Reviews

View all

Wonderful life affirming book!

Beautifully descriptive book which I did not want to end. Cannot recommend highly enough. One of the best books I’ve ever read

Gillian Sangster

Lyrical and oh so beautiful

A coming of age story beautifully told. It is a time of hope just after the 2nd World War and Robert Appleyard goes for a walk in the beautiful Durham coun... READ MORE

Rob

Beautiful

The most gentle of narratives wraps its arms around you and draws you in to the world of Dulcie Piper. No wonder Robert Appleyard was caught in her spell. ... READ MORE

FREDA WILLS

The Offing

I loved this book. Set in a time when life was simple and rewarding. The characters are mesmerising and became so real to me that I could not put it down. ... READ MORE

Ruth Foster

Compelling

Like reading a wonderful journey & feeling you are the companion of the traveler , I didn’t want the journey to end!

Lyn Easton

The Offing is an Awakening...A Must-Read!

My first five-star rating of 2020! I came across this beauty of a book while browsing the Walter Scott Prize Longlist for Historical Fiction. It stood out ... READ MORE

Megan D

What a treat

This is the best book I've read for a very long time. Loved it. Wonderful characters - hooked from the first page. I have been recommending it to everyo... READ MORE

Evelyn Robinson

Beautiful

I don’t often read novels but thought I’d try something different. I have sat today and read this book from cover to cover - I was absolutely enchanted an... READ MORE

Sherrylyn Peck

Nothing off about this book

I have just finished ‘The Offing’ by Benjamin Myers. I felt a sense initially of walking out one Midsummer Morning with Laurie Lee – of wonder and adventur... READ MORE

Mark Rasdall

Wonderful

Having caught covid (yes but I've had both jabs) I needed a good book to cheer me up. I'd bought this from Waterstones a couple of weeks ago and started to... READ MORE

Patrick Elliott

Loved the shape of this book

I have just finished ‘The Offing’ by Benjamin Myers. I felt a sense initially of walking out one Midsummer Morning with Laurie Lee – of wonder and adventur... READ MORE

Mark Rasdall

Poignant, warm, wonderful

This is a wonderful, sensitive, descriptive, moving account of a callow young man's coming-of-age meeting with an older and worldly Bohemian woman in the a... READ MORE

Alan Davis

The Offing, Benjamen Myers

Takes its time, evocative with wonderful descriptions. A gem of a book - brilliant.

Sonia Perkin

Lack of Research

Pleb-like this person ploughs on and follows sheep-like all the chefs who stuff garlic in everything. Garlic would NEVER have been added to lobster at the... READ MORE

Ken Pedrick

The Offing

I like to read something different to my usual crime books from time to time, and this fits the bill perfectly. The story of an unlikely friendship, with ... READ MORE

HelenS

The Offing

Bookseller Reviews

Synopsis

Publisher information

Customer Reviews

You may also like...