Heartless

Dust jacket and two chapter head illustrations by Kathleen Jennings

We’re thrilled to announce a stunning new novella by H. G. Parry, the acclaimed author of The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep.

About the Book:

At the age of seven, in a London workhouse, newly-orphaned James meets ten-year-old Peter. Mysterious, mercurial, thoughtless to the point of cruelty, Peter nonetheless takes a liking to James. The two forge a strange friendship, bound together by their shared love of stories—stories of a magical island called Neverland, where they adventure as the pirate James Hook and the child-king Peter Pan. But one fateful night, Peter vanishes from his bed, and in the morning James is found lying alone and broken in the courtyard outside. Only James saw Peter fly from the workhouse roof in pursuit of a star, and nobody but James believes that the star was a fairy.

Over twenty years later, on the deck of a whaling ship in the frozen wastes of the Arctic, First Mate James Hook sees the same star again.

James’s obsession with finding his childhood friend will lead him to mutiny and murder, beyond the edges of the world, and finally to an island that shouldn’t exist. But neither Neverland nor Peter are what they appear. A new story is about to begin, and not all stories have happy endings.

Limited: 1000 signed numbered hardcover copies

From Publishers Weekly:

“The origins of Neverland are revealed in this enchanting Peter Pan prequel from Parry (The Magician’s Daughter). James Hook is seven when his mother dies and he’s sent to live in a workhouse in Victorian London... Afterward, he embarks on an obsessive, lifelong search for Neverland, magic, and the cruel childhood friend who left him behind. Parry brings James’s increasingly desperate quest to life through vivid prose and probes deeply into what it actually means never to grow up.”

Praise for The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, H. G. Parry’s first novel:

From Alix E. Harrow:

“If you’ve ever checked the backs of your wardrobe for snow and lamp-light—if you’ve ever longed to visit Pemberley House or 221B Baker Street, to battle the Jabberwock or wander through a fictional London fog—this book belongs to you. It’s a star-studded literary tour and a tangled mystery and a reflection on reading itself; it’s a pure delight.”

From Kirkus (Starred Review):

“Many have tried and some have succeeded in writing mashups with famed literary characters, but Parry knocks it out of the park... Just plain wonderful.”

From Booklist (Starred Review):

“Fun, witty, and full of insights about the powerful effect of stories on our lives, this book is highly recommended. Give it to readers who devoured Jasper Fforde, Jim C. Hines’ Libriomancer (2012), and Genevieve Cogman’s The Invisible Library (2016), and to readers looking for adventurous fantasy with a soupçon of family drama.”

From Kat Howard:

“H.G. Parry's ambitious debut novel is a delight of magic and literature, love and adventure. With vibrant characters and a passion for story that shines through every word, this engaging read establishes Parry as a writer to watch.”

From Locus:

“Part mystery, all magical, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep is both amusing and perceptive; the novel entertains as it reminds us of the power of words and how fiction can influence real life.”