For Jon Dymond, growing up in a quiet corner of Restoration England, the Civil War is a closed book, something older people were once engaged in but of little consequence to life here and now.  Content with his uneventful existence, Jon believes without question in the goodness of his family, his community, his nation ― and himself.  His virtue has yet to be tested, however, and the discovery of a mysterious sin committed by his dead uncle launches Jon on a journey that will strip away his complacency, revealing horrors he never imagined and leaving him a sadder and a wiser man. 

‘The Wilding’ was a Richard and Judy book club choice and longlisted for the Orange Prize.

‘As pleasurable to read as its predecessor, a novel to finish and start right back at the beginning’ – The Economist

‘A historical novel of brilliant imaginative depth and power but also true to its time and written with exquisite style, detail and language’ – Lancashire Evening Post

‘McCann has in buckets whatever mysterious quality keeps a reader wide-eyed well after he’d planned to turn out the light’ – Lionel Shriver