The Sealwoman’s Gift

A Zoe Ball ITV Book Club Pick

‘Sally Magnusson has taken an amazing true event and created a brilliant first novel. It’s an epic journey in every sense: although it’s historical, it’s incredibly relevant to our world today. We had to pick it’ Zoe Ball Book Club

‘A remarkable feat of imagination … I enjoyed and admired it in equal measure’ Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent ‘A powerful tale of Barbary pirates … richly imagined and energetically told.’ Sunday Times – 100 Best Books to Read This Summer

‘Engrossing’ Sunday Express ‘Fascinating … a really, really good read’ BBC R2 Book Club

‘The best sort of historical novel’ Scotsman ‘A lyrical tale’ Stylist

‘A poetic retelling of Icelandic history’ Daily Mail ‘Compelling stuff’ Good Housekeeping

‘An extraordinarily immersive read … examining themes of motherhood, identity, exile and freedom’ Guardian

1627. In a notorious historical event, pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 people into slavery in Algiers. Among them a pastor, his wife, and their children.

In her acclaimed debut novel Sally Magnusson imagines what history does not record: the experience of Asta, the pastor’s wife, as she faces her losses with the one thing left to her – the stories from home – and forges an ambiguous bond with the man who bought her.

Uplifting, moving, and witty, The Sealwoman’s Gift speaks across centuries and oceans about loss, love, resilience and redemption.

Chosen for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and the ITV Zoe Ball Book Club.

‘Icelandic history has been brought to extraordinary life… An accomplished and intelligent novel’ Yrsa Siguroardottir, author of Why Did You Lie?

‘Vivid and compelling’ Adam Nichols, co-translator of The Travels of Reverend Olafur Egilsson