An Unlikely Visitor
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-00-825507-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Moving, funny, compassionate and wise. An Unlikely Visitor made me laugh, cry and left me filled with hope' ELIZABETH DAY
'A perfect book for today's world' SARAH WINMAN
'Heartbreaking, life-affirming and funny all at the same time' JANE FALLON
MARGARET THINKS HER TIME IS UP... BUT MAYBE HER TIME IS NOW?
Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago.
Despite everything, they built a lovely life together... it's just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own.
Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visi-tor, and together they set out to discover what really hap-pened to Jeanie.
Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story...
'Poignant'
SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE
'Compelling' MAIL ON SUNDAY, BEST NEW FICTION
It's not always about the destination... join Joanna Cannon's readers on a profoundly moving emotional journey:
'A book that invites you to slow down... will leave you feeling both tearful and inspired'????? Reader Review
'Wonderfully comforting' ????? Reader Review
'This is a wonderful book, and it will stay with me for a very long time'????? Reader Review
'Tender and poignant'????? Reader Review
'I laughed and cried and could not put the book down'????? Reader Review
'A very special book that will have the reader crying, laughing... and feeling every other possible emotion'????? Reader Review
More praise for Joanna Cannon:
'An Unlikely Visitor feels like a surreal collaboration between Alan Bennett, Alice Sebold, and a Derbyshire Elizabeth Strout' PATRICK GALE
'In An Unlikely Visitor Joanna Cannon treats weighty subjects - grief, loss, victimhood - with a light touch and her characteristic compassion and humour' CLARE CHAMBERS
'Emotional, sweet, funny, hauntingly sad and poignant' SARA COX
'Lovely, lovely, lovely... Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe' MARIAN KEYES
'An utter delight' SARAH WINMAN
'A joy and a triumph' RACHEL JOYCE
'Charming, wise and profoundly human' ERIN KELLY
'A perfect book for today's world' SARAH WINMAN
'Heartbreaking, life-affirming and funny all at the same time' JANE FALLON
MARGARET THINKS HER TIME IS UP... BUT MAYBE HER TIME IS NOW?
Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago.
Despite everything, they built a lovely life together... it's just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own.
Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visi-tor, and together they set out to discover what really hap-pened to Jeanie.
Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story...
'Poignant'
SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE
'Compelling' MAIL ON SUNDAY, BEST NEW FICTION
It's not always about the destination... join Joanna Cannon's readers on a profoundly moving emotional journey:
'A book that invites you to slow down... will leave you feeling both tearful and inspired'????? Reader Review
'Wonderfully comforting' ????? Reader Review
'This is a wonderful book, and it will stay with me for a very long time'????? Reader Review
'Tender and poignant'????? Reader Review
'I laughed and cried and could not put the book down'????? Reader Review
'A very special book that will have the reader crying, laughing... and feeling every other possible emotion'????? Reader Review
More praise for Joanna Cannon:
'An Unlikely Visitor feels like a surreal collaboration between Alan Bennett, Alice Sebold, and a Derbyshire Elizabeth Strout' PATRICK GALE
'In An Unlikely Visitor Joanna Cannon treats weighty subjects - grief, loss, victimhood - with a light touch and her characteristic compassion and humour' CLARE CHAMBERS
'Emotional, sweet, funny, hauntingly sad and poignant' SARA COX
'Lovely, lovely, lovely... Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe' MARIAN KEYES
'An utter delight' SARAH WINMAN
'A joy and a triumph' RACHEL JOYCE
'Charming, wise and profoundly human' ERIN KELLY
Reviews / Votes
'An Unlikely Visitor is an astonishing achievement... Joanna Cannon is an exquisite observer of human nature. Her stories are not so much told as felt by the soul' ELIZABETH DAY 'Joanna Cannon is a compassionate storyteller who writes about the big things with a lightness of touch. An Unlikely Visitor is an engaging mystery, magical and humane as it slowly unfurls - a perfect book for today's world' SARAH WINMAN 'Joanna Cannon beautifully examines each tragic, surprising, shocking and precious moment of ordinary life. An extraordinary book, I loved it' FERN BRITTON 'Joanna Cannon's words are like a heartbeat on the page; she is easily one of my favourite authors. An Unlikely Visitor is an emotional, imaginative story written with such empathy and tenderness' CECELIA AHERN 'A poignant, funny and life-affirming novel about finding another end to your story, told with Joanna Cannon's wit and warmth' PRIMA 'A richly imagined, deeply soothing and impeccably structured story, told with Joanna Cannon's trademark wit and warmth. A balm for the soul' SAMUEL BURR 'Brimming with Jo's trademark compassion, insight and wry humour, An Unlikely Visitor is both a meditation on a grief, a mystery of a missing child and a powerful exploration of the human condition. A treat of a novel' HANNAH BECKERMAN 'A novel that appears to be telling Margaret and Derek's poignant story becomes, in Joanna Cannon's gifted hands, a profound reflection on the human condition, and therein lie the joy and the magic... We are left marvelling at how extraordinary ordinary people can be, and what a wonder it is to live and love at all' JOANNA GLEN Praise for Joanna Cannon: 'Lovely, lovely, lovely... Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe' MARIAN KEYES 'A chronicler both of the human condition and the quotidian details which speak to who we are' GUARDIAN 'Irresistibly good-hearted' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Funny, melancholy, acutely observant' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Compassionate, thoughtful and tender' OBSERVERMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
516 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-825507-7 (9780008255077)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Joanna Cannon is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Three Things about Elsie and A Tidy Ending. She worked as a hospital doctor before specialising in psychiatry, and lives in the Peak District with her family and her dog.