They Know Where They're Going

From 2025 Women's Prize listed author Jenni Daiches, a new novel set in the near future.

Set in 2041 when England is dried up by climate change, the novel follows sixteen year old Ishbel Saddler and family who leave their southern English farm with their horses and dogs to walk to Scotland where water is plentiful. However Scotland is by this time an independent country and getting accross the border is difficult...

Set in 2041 when England is dried up by climate change, this novel is seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Ishbel Saddler. Her Scottish mother has died, and drought and crop failure force her family to abandon their Cambridgeshire farm. They embark on a journey by wagon with horses, dogs and friends, their destination Scotland’s northwest Highlands. But Scotland is now independent and those seeking its plentiful water are not welcome – crossing the patrolled Border is going to be challenging. On their journey through a decaying country the family face threats and hostility as well as kindness and support. It is a tale of determination and hope with echoes of the USA’s pioneering overlanders and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.