Benjamin Myers's new book has recently been published by Bloomsbury. Cuddy is a bold and experimental retelling of the story of the hermit St. Cuthbert, unofficial patron saint of the North of England.
Incorporating poetry, prose, play, diary and real historical accounts to create a novel like no other, Cuddy straddles historical eras - from the first Christian-slaying Viking invaders of the holy island of Lindisfarne in the 8th century to a contemporary England defined by class and austerity.
Along the way we meet brewers and masons, archers and academics, monks and labourers, their visionary voices and stories echoing through their ancestors and down the ages.
And all the while at the centre sits Durham Cathedral and the lives of those who live and work around this place of pilgrimage – their dreams, desires, connections and communities.
The book is available in hardback format from your local independent bookshop, and via audible.
Visit Bloomsbury's website for further details.
Press Quotes
‘An epic the north has long deserved’ - FINANCIAL TIMES
‘A polyphonic hymn to a very specific landscape and its people. At the same time, it deepens his standing as an arresting chronicler of a broader, more mysterious seam of ancient folklore that unites the history of these isles as it’s rarely taught’ - OBSERVER
‘Myers is maturing into a serious writer rather than just a sombre one. Cuddy is an ambitious and accomplished novel that shows it’s not — necessarily — grim up north’ - THE TIMES
‘There’s much to enjoy in the novel’s linguistic beauty ... Cuddy explores the endurance of goodness and grace’ - SPECTATOR
‘A polyphonic hymn to the North-East … The symbiosis of poetry and story, of knowledge and deep love, marks out Cuddy as a singular and significant achievement’ - GUARDIAN
‘Mesmerising, lyrical ... Stands in a genre of its own ... Serves as a reminder that we are but custodians of a world we inherited. Cuddy cements Myers’s standing as one of our finest, and most deftly imaginative, writers’ - iNEWS
‘Myers traces … the manifold threads of history to remarkable effect’ - IRISH TIMES
‘The cathedral is a wonder … in its elegance and grotesquery, its shimmering and its solidity, Myers captures it accurately. Indeed, that could be a description of his book’ - SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
‘Marvellous, artful, enchanted ... With power and pathos, this novel follows the cult of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne from the 7th century to the present day’ - DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘Spare, poetic, haunting, tenderly observed’ - PROSPECT
‘An accomplished and very moving novel’ - SCOTSMAN
‘An absorbingly beautiful book ... There aren't many writers as attuned to the present state of this country and the history and landscape that made it as Myers, who succeeds repeatedly in harnessing time with compassion, kindness and a rare gift for finding the right voice for the right people in the right era’ - NEW EUROPEAN
