Hagstone
Published on 27. March 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-00-862668-6 (ISBN)
Description
THE INSTANT TOP 5 IRISH BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN McGAHERN BOOK PRIZE 2025
'Wild, singular...gripped me from the start' DOUGLAS STUART
'Passionate, wild, hugely atmospheric' DAVID NICHOLLS
'Intelligent, probing' MAGGIE O'FARRELL
'A gorgeous, mysterious read' AISLING BEA
'I adored it' LOUISE KENNEDY
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
*A most anticipated 2024 debut in BBC, Daily Mail, Stylist, New Statesman, Sunday Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner*
The haunting debut novel from acclaimed, Irish no. 1 bestselling author, Sinead Gleeson.
For artist Nell, the island is her home and the source of inspiration for her art. The Inions, a reclusive community of women, consider it a place of refuge and solace in nature. All the islanders live there alongside strange murmurings that seem to emanate from the depths of the landscape, a sound that is almost supernatural - a Summoning, as the Inions call it.
One day, a letter from the Inions arrives at Nell's door. They invite her to produce an artwork celebrating their Samhain anniversary and Nell cannot resist accepting. But as the fateful day approaches, Nell senses tensions building beneath the placid surface of the commune. Will she be able to unearth the truth behind the events unfolding around her? And how far will someone go to protect what they hold most dear?
Beautifully written and gripping, Sinead Gleeson's debut novel takes in the darker side of human nature and the mysteries of faith and the natural world. Perfect for readers of Margaret Atwood and Sarah Moss.
'Sublime'
OBSERVER
'Original and captivating'
BBC
'A gripping punch to the gut'
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
'Startling, engrossing, darkly playful' RODDY DOYLE
'Magnificent...a literary page-turner' JENNIFER HIGGIE
'Constellations: Reflections from Life' by Sinead Gleeson won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the 2019 Irish Book Awards.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN McGAHERN BOOK PRIZE 2025
'Wild, singular...gripped me from the start' DOUGLAS STUART
'Passionate, wild, hugely atmospheric' DAVID NICHOLLS
'Intelligent, probing' MAGGIE O'FARRELL
'A gorgeous, mysterious read' AISLING BEA
'I adored it' LOUISE KENNEDY
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
*A most anticipated 2024 debut in BBC, Daily Mail, Stylist, New Statesman, Sunday Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner*
The haunting debut novel from acclaimed, Irish no. 1 bestselling author, Sinead Gleeson.
For artist Nell, the island is her home and the source of inspiration for her art. The Inions, a reclusive community of women, consider it a place of refuge and solace in nature. All the islanders live there alongside strange murmurings that seem to emanate from the depths of the landscape, a sound that is almost supernatural - a Summoning, as the Inions call it.
One day, a letter from the Inions arrives at Nell's door. They invite her to produce an artwork celebrating their Samhain anniversary and Nell cannot resist accepting. But as the fateful day approaches, Nell senses tensions building beneath the placid surface of the commune. Will she be able to unearth the truth behind the events unfolding around her? And how far will someone go to protect what they hold most dear?
Beautifully written and gripping, Sinead Gleeson's debut novel takes in the darker side of human nature and the mysteries of faith and the natural world. Perfect for readers of Margaret Atwood and Sarah Moss.
'Sublime'
OBSERVER
'Original and captivating'
BBC
'A gripping punch to the gut'
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
'Startling, engrossing, darkly playful' RODDY DOYLE
'Magnificent...a literary page-turner' JENNIFER HIGGIE
'Constellations: Reflections from Life' by Sinead Gleeson won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the 2019 Irish Book Awards.
Reviews / Votes
'A passionate, wild, hugely atmospheric and enjoyable debut from such an original voice' David Nicholls, author of You Are Here'An intelligent, probing novel about isolation, art, and the incompatible desires for both solitude and community' Maggie O'Farrell, author of Hamnet
'A wild, singular story that gripped me from the start' Douglas Stuart, author of Young Mungo
'Sublime ... wonderfully wise' Observer
'Startling, engrossing, darkly playful' Roddy Doyle, author of Love
'A gripping punch to the gut' Sunday Independent
'Absorbing and wild' Spectator
'Original and captivating' BBC
'Totally original' Elaine Feeney, author of How to Build a Boat
'Beautifully written, unsettling and eerie' Irish Times
'Gleeson's prose shines with a literary luminescence' Sunday Business Post
'Wonderful and captivating' Cosey Fanny Tutti, author of Art Sex Music
'Mesmerising and haunting' Emilie Pine, author of Ruth & Pen
'Beautiful, unsettling' Rebecca Tamas, author of Strangers
'Beautiful, eerie' Patrick Freyne, author of OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea
'Wildly seductive' Kerri ni Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places
'A delicious eccentric story' June Caldwell, author of Room Little Darker
'Engrossing and wild and gothic, a startlingly good debut' Evie Wyld, author of The Echoes
'A wonderful neo-mythic conjuration' Mike McCormack, author of Solar Bones
'A visceral storyteller who nails your head to the page' Blindboy Boatclub
'Fresh and strange and compelling' Lizzie Stewart, author of Alison
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
282 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-862668-6 (9780008626686)
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
Sinead Gleeson's essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life was published by Picador in 2019 and won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at 2019 Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writer. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Michel Deon Prize. She is the editor of The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers (named for a line from Maeve Brennan, which includes a story by Brennan), The Glass Shore: Short Stories by Women Writers from the North of Ireland and The Art of Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories. Sinead also collaborates with artists and musicians, with commissions from The Wellcome Collection, BBC, Frieze and various galleries. In 2022, with Kim Gordon, she co-edited This Woman's Work: Essays on Music, published by White Rabbit Books, and Hagstone is her first novel.