The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch

Primrose Honeychurch doesn’t really “get” people. Books, though, make perfect sense.

At seventy, the sharp-tongued recluse prefers to keep company with her own routines. But when a life-altering diagnosis leaves her worried she’ll never be missed, she decides it’s finally time to do something to leave her mark: something no one will ever forget.

Clutching her mother’s ashes and the book of her heart, Primrose hops on a plane, bound for Hay-on-Wye, the legendary Welsh “Town of Books.” Unfortunately, her literary pilgrimage just won’t follow the plot. After an accident derails her trip, she finds herself staying awhile with estranged family. But she senses a kindred spirit in the niece she’s getting to know, who uncannily understands the world much the same as Primrose herself does.

As rolling green hills and book-lined streets frame an unexpected season of discovery, what began as an unwelcome detour becomes something more profound. For the first time in her life, Primrose begins to glimpse the beauty―and courage―of true human connection.

Praise for The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch

“Laura Jensen Walker’s The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch is a heartfelt exploration of courage, reinvention, and the quiet bravery it takes to choose a different life. Perfect for readers who love emotional, transformative stories, this bittersweet, hopeful novel is a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to begin again…and sometimes the most daunting paths lead exactly where we’re meant to go.”

—Emily Colin, New York Times bestselling author of The Memory Thief

“The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch is an enchanting story on the importance of family with an interestingly different main character.”

—Rhys Bowen, bestselling author of Mrs Endicott’s Splendid Adventure and The Venice Sketchbook

“In Laura Jensen Walker’s The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch, where Primrose goes, the reader willingly follows. It’s the journey of a lifetime through wonder, laughter, and heartbreak—and many cups of tea—that’s not to be missed.”

—USA Today Bestselling author Marty Wingate, author of The German Sisters

“Is it a fairytale full of grit? Is it a tragedy sprinkled with stardust? . . . In this wonderful novel, Laura Walker takes her captivating, bookish, awkward heroine from the dullest Vegas subdivision to the spires of Oxford, the Globe at Stratford, the treasure trove of Hay-on-Wye and the most perfect roses-round-the-door Cornish cottage and shows a small life growing to be something quite splendid in the most remarkable way.  You’ll be thinking about this book long after you race to its end.”

—Catriona McPherson, multi-award-winning author of The Dead Room