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Splendour
- Author
- Elizabeth-Jane Burnett
- Narrator
- Natalie Kassanga
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 18 June 2026
- Run Time
- 8 hours 59 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
A moving tale of resistance and renewal, from the acclaimed author of Twelve Words for Moss
Two friends, Kenjo and Leah, swoosh through the lush forests at the edge of their village in Kenya. Imitating hornbills and lying on the mossy boulders that line the river, the young girls are watched over by a canopy of ancient trees, whose roots reach into the past, present and future.
But this glittering countryside is quickly becoming a haunting. As the armed rebellion against the British colonial regime intensifies, the forest is subsumed in a destructive conflict, disturbing the profound balance of life it nourishes and knowledge it preserves. Forced from their homes, the friends are separated by oceans and decades. Like the branches that once sheltered them, they may be twisted and buckled by violence, but they will also, somehow, endure.
This tale of courage, survival and restoration captures the healing – and destructive – power of time and unearths the hidden traces it leaves behind.
© Elizabeth-Jane Burnett 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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Moving, beautiful . . . despite the novel’s poetic shimmer, Burnett honours the power of plot and is unafraid to dwell in its darkest twists and turns . . . this debut novel shines
Observer
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Praise for Twelve Words for Moss
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Exquisite, luminous and quietly radical... so electric and so alive. It makes the world more beautiful and dimensional and vibrant... utterly unique and refreshing
Lucy Jones, author of Matrescence
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A fascinating, subtle and risk-taking book
Robert Macfarlane
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Hybridity (of form, subject) is what makes Elizabeth-Jane Burnett's work sing, beguile
Sinéad Gleeson, author of Constellations
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A masterclass in the art of prose writing
Sharon Blackie, author of If Women Rose Rooted
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A rich, absorbing novel. Elizabeth-Jane Burnett artfully explores the bonds of friendship, the shifting modes of time and the beauty of healing.
Irenosen Okojie
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Elizabeth-Jane Burnett
- Narrator
- Natalie Kassanga
- Duration
- 8 hours 59 minutes
- Release Date
- 18 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781837311842
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Narrative theme: war and conflict
Synopsis
A moving tale of resistance and renewal, from the acclaimed author of Twelve Words for MossTwo friends, Kenjo and Leah, swoosh through the lush forests at the edge of their village in Kenya. Imitating hornbills and lying on the mossy boulders that line the river, the young girls are watched over by a canopy of ancient trees, whose roots reach into the past, present and future.But this glittering countryside is quickly becoming a haunting. As the armed rebellion against the British colonial regime intensifies, the forest is subsumed in a destructive conflict, disturbing the profound balance of life it nourishes and knowledge it preserves. Forced from their homes, the friends are separated by oceans and decades. Like the branches that once sheltered them, they may be twisted and buckled by violence, but they will also, somehow, endure.This tale of courage, survival and restoration captures the healing – and destructive – power of time and unearths the hidden traces it leaves behind.© Elizabeth-Jane Burnett 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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