The Penguin Podcast is back! Listen Now
Birdsong

Birdsong

Summary

'Magnificent - deeply moving' Sunday Times
'Engrossing, moving, and unforgettable' The Times


In the heat of the French summer of 1910, young Englishman Stephen Wraysford arrives in Amiens to stay with the Azaire family. But soon a secret passion emerges that threatens to destroy the household. Six years later, Stephen finds himself on the Western Front with civilization itself in the balance. And in a maze of tunnels under the trenches he will fight for everything he has known and loved.

An epic of love, death and redemption, Birdsong has moved millions of readers all over the world to become a contemporary classic.

Sebastian Faulks, Sunday Times bestseller, September 2023

About the author

Sebastian Faulks

Sebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which A Week in December and The Fatal Englishman were number one in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. He is best known for Birdsong, part of his French trilogy, and Human Traces, the first in an ongoing Austrian trilogy. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist on national papers. He has also written screenplays and has appeared in small roles on stage. He lives in London.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more