The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry

Harold Fry, the unassuming hero of Rachel Joyce’s life-affirming story, is a man on a mission – to walk more than 600 miles to save a friend.

When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life.

"There's tremendous heart in this debut novel by Rachel Joyce, as she probes questions that are as simple as they are profound: Can we begin to live again, and live truly, as ourselves, even in middle age, when all seems ruined? Can we believe in hope when hope seems to have abandoned us? I found myself laughing through tears, rooting for Harold at every step of his journey. I'm still rooting for him."  -  Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

"Manipulative but moving, for readers who don't mind having their strings pulled."  -  Kirkus Reviews

Rachel Joyce Her route to fiction took in short stints as a nanny, a door-to-door salesperson, an assistant in a souvenir shop, and a barmaid in a London champagne bar where she refused to serve champagne, only beer. She then went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and spent 20 years as an actress before writing her first play for radio. Her first novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, was written when she was 50.