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The Ministry of Time

The romantic, sci-fi, comedic, literary, genre-defying bestseller

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The Ministry of Time

By: Kaliane Bradley
Narrated by: George Weightman, Katie Leung
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Summary

 The Time Traveller's Wife meets David Mitchell meets Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow meets Kate & Leopold in this debut novel from an award-winning writer.

There are several ways to tell a story.

A boy meets a girl. The past meets the future. A finger meets a trigger. The beginning meets the end. England is forever; England must fall.

A civil servant starts working as a 'bridge' - a liaison, helpmeet and housemate - in an experimental project that brings expatriates from the past into the twenty-first century. This is a science-fiction story.

In a London safehouse in the 2020s, a disorientated Victorian polar explorer chain smokes while listening to Spotify and learning about political correctness. This is a comedy.

During a long, sultry summer - as the shadows around them grow long and dangerous - two people fall in love, against all odds. This is a romance.

The Ministry of Time is a novel about Commander Graham Gore (R.N. c.1809-c.1847) and a woman known only as the bridge. As their relationship turns from the strictly professional into something more and uneasy truths begin to emerge, they are forced to face the reality of the project that brought them together.

Can love triumph over the structures and histories that shape them?

(P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2024 Kaliane Bradley City Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Time Travel Urban World Literature England Funny
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Critic reviews

The debut of the year by a distance . . . propulsive and exhilarating (Five of the year's best summer reads)
What a thrill to come to Kaliane Bradley's debut, The Ministry of Time, a novel where things happen, lots of them, and all of them are exciting to read about and interesting to think about . . . give in to the tide of this book, and let it pull you along. It's very smart; it's very silly; and the obvious fun never obscures completely the sheer, gorgeous, wild stretch of her ideas (Ella Risbridger)
Terrific, moving . . . Bradley's writing is clear and stylish, her dialogue dry and sprightly; the serious matters of love and mortality are cloaked in humour, but never too heavily. If you loved Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife, or the big hit of 2022, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, this will be right up your street . . . don't wait for this tale to come to the small screen. Crack this book open and you'll see how time can disappear (Erica Wagner)
Simply adorable . . . It's the book I have recommended to friends with the most success (Books of the Year)
This is extraordinary writing, with unforgettable characters and a spine tingling love affair, and manages to be both a serious look at the weight of history and an absolute riot. A true original (Francesca Steele)
I loved its combination of extreme whimsy, high seriousness and cool understatement - and migration-as-time-travel is a clever conceit (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
Fizzing with sharp one-liners about everything from Tinder to e-scooters, the novel is also a thoughtful meditation on imperialism and immigration (50 of the best new books to dive into)
An addictive sci-fi romantic comedy . . . Laugh-out-loud funny and a suprisingly powerful meditation on the climate crisis, it's above all exciting, fun and a good old-fashioned page turner that you'll recommend to all your friends (Best new books to read in 2024)
A thoughtful dive into colonialism via time-travelling expats, the perfect beach read with some literary heft . . . Bradley's debut is also acute on what refuge means in a swiftly changing world (Nilanjana Roy, Journalists pick their favourite book of 2024 so far)
Smart, funny and moving, this debut has been the hit of the year (Five of the best science fiction books of 2024)
Intelligent and witty . . . a clever, funny yarn that breathes fresh air into time-travel novels, postcolonial narratives and romance stories alike . . . a sparkling delight (Bidisha Mamata)
A triumph (Sara Lawrence)
Comedy, betrayal and romance collide in a story that explores everything from climate change and colonialism to friendship, hope and forgiveness. Start backing out of your weekend plans now . . . (Book of the Week)
A powerfully drawn love story, an insider's takedown of murky bureaucracy, an action thriller . . . It's a fun ride
All stars
Most relevant
This just whips along at a great pace, touching on all sorts of crises in our modern world, viewed sometimes through they eyes of contemporary, past, and future characters.

Funny, but dark in turns, it’s beautifully narrated.

Cracking Storytelling

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This is a haunting story of love, friendship and redemption. The narration is beautiful, but the real show stopper is the story itself. I highly recommend it!

Simply Beautiful

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A unique speculative novel that encompasses many different themes and characters.
It was a bit slow to get started and I was unsure where the novel was going. The story became more interesting as it developed, and much of the real action happened in the latter half of the book.
I did enjoy the novel and it was unlike any other time travel and romance book that I have ever read. I grew to care about the main characters and wanted the best for them.

Different to what I expected

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A really good, well paced story. Not so much about time travel but more relationships. Took me a while to warm to the the reader but her performance was great. Definitely worth a read 👍🏻

Fabulous

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Beautifully interwoven tale of love, espionage, time travel and a spot of intrigue thrown in for good measure. One of the best character driven stories I’ve read in a while so don’t worry about getting bogged down in any science behind the time travel element. It’s more about the people and makes for a book with a real sense of heart at its core.

Fabulous listen!

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