Land

by Maggie O'Farrell

'You will never understand how the land remembers, how deep the roots grow'

A spellbinding story of separation, longing, recovery and survival as a family makes a new home in the aftermath of tragedy.

'Maggie O'Farrell is a miracle in every sense' Ann Patchett
'Maggie O'Farrell takes up a bow and arrow and aims right at the human heart' The Times

On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 1865, and in a country not long since ravaged and emptied by the Great Hunger, the task is not an easy one. Tomás, however, is determined that his maps will be a record of the disaster.

The British soldiers in charge are due to arrive any day, expecting the work to be completed, but Tomás is sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse. His life, and those of his family, will never be the same again. Liam is terrified by the sudden change in his taciturn father. What was it that caused such cracks to open in Tomás and how is Liam, aged only ten, going to finish the mapping, and get them both home?

Land is a story of buried treasure, overlapping lives, ancient woodland, persistent ghosts, a particularly loyal dog, and how, when it comes to both land and history, nothing ever goes away.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Ireland, Historical, Literary Fiction, Irish Literature, Adult

400 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

Maggie O'Farrell (born 1972, Coleraine Northern Ireland) is a British author of contemporary fiction, who features in Waterstones' 25 Authors for the Future. It is possible to identify several common themes in her novels - the relationship between sisters is one, another is loss and the psychological impact of those losses on the lives of her characters.

Reviews

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)]

- author is Maggie O'Farrell ✅
- historical fiction ✅
- windswept setting ✅
- stunning cover ✅
- it's gonna have gorgeous prose ✅✅✅

[Julia]

Never clicked Want to Read faster, this is the best news all week

[Shannon Henry]

saw a quote about maps so ofc i'll be reading this

[Kristine]

I Want to Read This: It is By Maggie O’Farrell! 💖💖💖

I love her writing. This story sounds so close to her heart.

Release Date is: June 2, 2026

[Kim van Alkemade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immersive and atmospheric, this magnificent novel took me on a journey through time as the fate of one Irish family is woven through the history and geography of the land on which they make their home. In a story that spans from Nordic invaders to English colonization, from the Great Famine to Canadian emigration, from the far-reaches of British empire to the source of a supernatural well, O'Farrell's gorgeous prose and rich descriptions gave me a visceral sense of Ireland's wonders and woes.

[Tova]

This sounds like Translations by Brian Friel, but make it Maggie O'Farrell, I am excited!!

[Jane Nolan]

I’m gonna freak out

[Susan Houghton]

Pub date June 2, 2026