The Undertow

The American debut by the bestselling author of Longbourn—a vivid, indelibly told novel that follows four generations of a family against the backdrop of a century of turmoil. • “Gripping…. Emotionally powerful…. You can’t walk away from her book.” —The New York Times Book Review

The Undertow traces the lives of the Hastings family, from the eve of the First World War to the present day:  William, a young factory worker preparing to join the navy; his son Billy, who cycles into the D-Day landings; his grandson Will, an Oxford professor in the 1960s; and his great-granddaughter, Billie, an artist in contemporary London. Here Jo Baker reveals the Hastings’ legacy of choices made, chances lost, and truths long buried in what is an enthralling story of inheritance, fate, passion, and what it means to truly break free of the past.