SHORTLISTED FOR THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS 'Tender, challenging and as warm as it was razor-sharp' Beth O'Leary 'If you've read Joanna Cannon I think you'll love this' Simon Savidge 'A sublimely witty and touching story' Jonathan Coe The standout new novel by acclaimed author Ayisha Malik - perfect for fans of David Nicholls and Candice Carty-Williams. In the sleepy village of Babel's End, trouble is brewing. Bilal Hasham is having a mid-life crisis. His mother has just died, and he finds peace lying in a grave he's dug in the garden. His elderly Auntie Rukhsana has come to live with him, and forged an unlikely friendship with village busybody, Shelley Hawking. His wife Mariam is distant and distracted, and his stepson Haaris is spending more time with his real father. Bilal's mother's dying wish was to build a mosque in Babel's End, but when Shelley gets wind of this scheme, she unleashes the forces of hell. Will Bilal's mosque project bring his family and his beloved village together again, or drive them apart? Warm, wise and laugh-out-loud funny, This Green and Pleasant Land is a life-affirming look at love, faith and the meaning of home.

The standout new novel by acclaimed author Ayisha Malik - perfect for fans of The Casual Vacancy, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Middle England. Everyone has a place they call home. But who gets to decide where you belong? For years Bilal Hasham and his wife Mariam have lived contented, quiet lives in the sleepy rural village of Babbel's End. Now all that is about to change. On her deathbed, Bilal's mother reaches for his hand. Instead of whispering her final prayers, she gives him a task: build a mosque in his country village. Mariam is horrified by Bilal's plan. His friends and neighbours are unnerved. As outrage sweeps Babbel's End, battle lines are drawn. His mother's dying wish reveals deeper divisions in their village than Bilal had ever imagined. Soon Bilal is forced to choose between community and identity, between faith and friendship, between honouring his beloved mother's last wish and preserving what is held dear in the place that he calls home.

Timely, humorous and deeply moving. This is the absolute standout new novel by acclaimed author (and 2018 Asian Woman of Achievement nominee) Ayisha Malik.

SHORTLISTED FOR INSPIRATIONAL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2014 GARDEN MEDIA GUILD AWARDS. The wonderfully evocative story of how Britain’s World War Two gardeners – with great ingenuity, invincible good humour and extraordinary fortitude – dug for victory on home turf. A Green and Pleasant Land tells the intriguing and inspiring story of how Britain's wartime government encouraged and cajoled its citizens to grow their own fruit and vegetables. As the Second World War began in earnest and a whole nation listened to wireless broadcasts, dug holes for Anderson shelters, counted their coupons and made do and mended, so too were they instructed to ‘Dig for Victory’. Ordinary people, as well as gardening experts, rose to the challenge: gardens, scrubland, allotments and even public parks were soon helping to feed a nation deprived of fresh produce. As Ursula Buchan reveals, this practical contribution to the Home Front was tackled with thrifty ingenuity, grumbling humour and extraordinary fortitude. The simple act of turning over soil and tending new plants became important psychologically for a population under constant threat of bombing and even invasion. Gardening reminded people that their country and its more innocent and insular pursuits were worth fighting for. Gardening in wartime Britain was a part of the fight for freedom.

In this emotional sequel to Tomorrow, Jerusalem, the WWI has ended, the Roaring Twenties are dawning, and three women’s lives are about to change . . . Rachel Patten is an undoubted beauty, yet the only man she wants is the one who rejects her. But then rebellion takes her across strict class boundaries into the arms of her gamekeeper, Gideon Best . . . Daphne Underscar—plain, gauche, but far from stupid—knows full well that the ambitious Toby Smith married her for money. With love, and with courage, she is prepared to gamble her own happiness on the hope of a more fulfilling relationship. Meanwhile Philippa Van Damme has led a sheltered life, her childhood severed abruptly by a wrenching bereavement. Thrust headlong into an unstable post-war world, her hopes of a future with Hugo Fellafield are dashed by familial discord, and the threat of political scandal. From industrial London to the tropical landscape of Madeira, Green and Pleasant Land follows the three women in a triumphant sequel to Tomorrow, Jerusalem. Perfect for fans of Julia Quinn and Victoria Hislop. Praise for the writing of Teresa Crane “A writer of great skill and vitality.” —Sarah Harrison, author of The Flowers of the Field “A wonderful storyteller.” —Daily Mail “A tale to take you out of yourself.” —Driffield Post “A well-written book with believable characters and an original and dramatic storyline.” —Historical Novel Review