Jacob's Folly

Rebecca Miller

I, the being in question, having spent nearly three hundred years lost as a pomegranate pip in a lake of aspic, amnesiac, bodiless and comatose, a nugget of spirit but nothing else, found myself quickening, gaining form and weight and, finally, consciousness
Jacob's Folly by Rebecca Miller (Paperback ISBN 9780857868992) book cover

Available as Paperback, eBook

A brilliantly original novel about love, family, and human folly – from the bestselling author of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

‘Wonderful’ Kate Atkinson
‘Highly original’ The Times
‘Witty and moving’ Mail on Sunday

Masha Edelman yearns for a life on the stage and to escape her strict religious family. Miles away, in a safe suburban neighbourhood, family man Leslie Senzatimore longs to be a hero. They have little idea of what lies ahead for them. Through a cosmic sleight of hand enters Jacob, a man who has travelled a long way through time, and is determined to make his mark on the lives of these two strangers. What follows is a rollicking, sparkling story of kinship, freedom and belonging.


Jacob’s Folly is an extraordinary book. Miller’s writing is vigorous, powerful and riveting. I was constantly surprised by the flights and dips of narrative, and its complexity, while from start to finish her wit and the clear, true characters kept the book grounded. A magnificent achievement”
Sadie Jones, Author Of The Outcast

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“A wonderful book - fresh, original, always surprising, with delightfully drawn characters. Rebecca Miller is an excellent novelist”
Kate Atkinson

“A highly imaginative exercise that turns out to be comic, raucous and tender, sometimes all at once”
sunday Telegraph

“Miller’s prose is rich. Eccentric, witty, highly original”
the Times

“Original and imaginative, this beautifully written novel is a witty and moving read; magical realism darkly filtered through a European eye”
mail On Sunday


Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Miller is a writer and director. She is the author of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, a Sunday Times bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club pick, which she also adapted for screen; Personal Velocity, her feature film of which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance; and Jacob’s Folly. Her film work includes Angela, The Ballad of Jack and Rose and Maggie’s Plan. Her work has been published in thirty-two languages.