Escape to the ocean with the entrancing, unforgettable winner of the Costa Book of the Year – as read on BBC Radio 4.

‘A daring, mesmerising novel… A modern myth’ Maggie O’Farrell, author of HAMNET

On a quiet day, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a mermaid raises her barnacled head from the flat grey sea. She is attracted by David, a fisherman waiting for a catch, singing to himself with his guitar. Aycayia the mermaid has been living in the vast ocean all alone for centuries.

When Aycayia is caught and dragged ashore by American tourists, David rescues her with the aim of putting her back in the ocean. But it is soon clear that the mermaid is already transforming into a woman.

This is the story of their love affair, of an island and of the great wide sea.

‘Not your standard mermaid’ Margaret Atwood, author of THE HANDMAID’S TALE

‘Bighearted… A world that it is a pleasure to live inside’ New York Times

‘Sensuous, beguiling, wondrous… A striking achievement’ Sunday Times

‘A fiercely modern mermaid story’ The Times

‘A unique talent’ Bernardine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER

VINTAGE EARTH is a series of books that reveals our ever-changing relationship with the environment. These are stories old and young, set in worlds real or imagined, that allow us to explore our connection to the natural world. Transformative, wild, surprising and essential, these novels take on the most urgent story of our times.