Offshore

By Penelope Fitzgerald,

Book cover of Offshore

Book description

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE
FEATURED ON BBC'S BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB

Penelope Fitzgerald's Booker Prize-winning novel of loneliness and connecting is set among the houseboat community of the Thames, with an introduction from Alan Hollinghurst.

On Battersea Reach, a mixed bag of the temporarily lost and the patently…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Offshore as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I have always liked the idea of living in a houseboat on the River Thames. This wonderful story simultaneously fed my fantasies and made me realise it might not be as idyllic as I imagined.

The houseboats on Battersea Reach are like a small village–each character is an individual yet integral part of the whole, their fortunes rising and falling with the tide. Through these characters, the book paints a picture of sixties London, swinging yet also unforgiving for those who slip between the cracks. Penelope Fitzgerald lived on a barge in Battersea, and I think much of the story…

Want books like Offshore?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 91 books like Offshore.

Browse books like Offshore

Book cover of Rivers of London
Book cover of Original Sin
Book cover of Ordinary Thunderstorms

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,511

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in London, presidential biography, and murder?

London 869 books
Murder 1,077 books