PERFECT FOR READERS OF ANNE TYLER, JOANNA TROLLOPE, AND RACHEL JOYCE.

Set between Devon and Brighton, Mute Swans is a richly told work of literary women’s fiction, full of warmth, wit, and emotional depth.
The novel follows Miriam, a woman caught between the quiet strain of a failing marriage and the long-buried truths of her family’s past.
When her mother’s dementia worsens, Miriam is given a memory journal that begins to unravel the romantic myth of her parents’ love story, and reshape her understanding of her own. As the novel unfolds in 2005, it reaches back through earlier decades to show how the past continues to exert its influence.
As Miriam’s daughters face defining decisions of their own, she is forced to question everything: her marriage to the rigid and judgemental Michael, her belief in her parents’ seemingly enduring bond, and the legacy of emotional silence passed down through generations.
From a runaway sister in the swinging sixties to a later-in-life, second-chance romance with a climate scientist, Miriam’s journey is shaped by painful revelations and by love both lost and won. As long-hidden secrets surface, she must decide whether the silence that has shaped her family will end with her.

Set against a changing British society and shared cultural moments that once united a nation, Mute Swans is a poignant novel about love in its many forms — messy, imperfect, enduring — and a powerful reminder that it is never too late to uncover the truth.

Recommended for readers aged 16+.