The Children
- Author Melissa Albert
- Narrator Iggy Costello, Kristen Sieh, Leslie Aleman, Rebecca Lowman, Saskia Maarleveld
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date 4 June 2026
- Run Time 14 hours and 42 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Fiction: general and literary.
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What to expect
Bloomsbury presents The Children by Melissa Albert, read by Rebecca Lowman, Saskia Maarleveld, Kristen Sieh, Iggy Costello and Leslie Alerman
'A joyously grim, open-eyed, adult fairy tale with the messiest of morals' PAUL TREMBLAY
'An insidious and masterfully cast spell of a book . . . Gorgeous and dreadful, I devoured it' MONA AWAD
_____________________________________________
Their childhood was yours. They want it back . . .
Guinevere’s late mother, Edith Sharpe, needs little introduction. Bestselling author of the unendingly successful Ninth City series, her books brought so much joy and inspired the imagination of countless children the world over. Guin’s childhood with her mother, brother Ennis and her actor father was a blissful, bohemian affair, filled with continuous laughter and surrounded by artistic types in their Vermont barnhouse. At least, this is the story Guin presents as she prepares for the press tour for her upcoming memoir about life in the Sharpe family.
Now estranged from her brother and her parents long dead after a devastating fire, strange events threaten the veneer of serenity and familial harmony Guin is keen to project. Ennis, now a notorious artist with a troubled past, announces a new installation – his first since a disastrous last show one year prior – simply entitled Mother. And Guin can’t help but worry that the truth behind their idyllic childhood is about to blow her world apart.
Told in alternating narratives between 1990s Vermont and present-day New York, The Children is a twisting narrative of family secrets and long-held resentments, which asks whether we can ever really exorcise the ghosts of a childhood forsaken in favour of a parent’s artistic vision.
_____________________________________________
'A poison apple of a book: glossy, sweet, and absolutely terrifying' ALIX E. HARROW
'Twisty and strange in all the best ways' HEATHER FAWCETT
'A joyously grim, open-eyed, adult fairy tale with the messiest of morals' PAUL TREMBLAY
'An insidious and masterfully cast spell of a book . . . Gorgeous and dreadful, I devoured it' MONA AWAD
_____________________________________________
Their childhood was yours. They want it back . . .
Guinevere’s late mother, Edith Sharpe, needs little introduction. Bestselling author of the unendingly successful Ninth City series, her books brought so much joy and inspired the imagination of countless children the world over. Guin’s childhood with her mother, brother Ennis and her actor father was a blissful, bohemian affair, filled with continuous laughter and surrounded by artistic types in their Vermont barnhouse. At least, this is the story Guin presents as she prepares for the press tour for her upcoming memoir about life in the Sharpe family.
Now estranged from her brother and her parents long dead after a devastating fire, strange events threaten the veneer of serenity and familial harmony Guin is keen to project. Ennis, now a notorious artist with a troubled past, announces a new installation – his first since a disastrous last show one year prior – simply entitled Mother. And Guin can’t help but worry that the truth behind their idyllic childhood is about to blow her world apart.
Told in alternating narratives between 1990s Vermont and present-day New York, The Children is a twisting narrative of family secrets and long-held resentments, which asks whether we can ever really exorcise the ghosts of a childhood forsaken in favour of a parent’s artistic vision.
_____________________________________________
'A poison apple of a book: glossy, sweet, and absolutely terrifying' ALIX E. HARROW
'Twisty and strange in all the best ways' HEATHER FAWCETT
Critics Review
This is an extraordinary book. A page-turner full of mystery . . . The language is dusted with magic . . . My advice: Be first in line
Sophisticated in its exploration of the complex relationship dynamics at play . . . Still, there is that sense of immersion . . . a groundedness that hooks the reader. The writing is full of delightful sensory detail . . . and well-observed description . . . Contemporary fantasy could certainly do with more sophisticated, updated takes on the genre like this one
This slippery investigation into the price of creativity is a dark fairytale
Not since Donna Tartt’s The Secret History have I loved a book filled with such magic and mystery as I have Melissa Albert’s The Children … This is a layered, haunting adult fairy tale … I loved this book, you will love it, you will buy it, you will read it so fast
Books about books or set in the publishing world are everywhere now … but Melissa Albert’s dark literary fantasy about the children of a famous author is a standout … A brilliant exploration of the weight of memory, the bond between siblings and how trauma shapes our lives. It’s a deliciously surprising novel, full of references to children’s literature and with the feeling at times of fairy tale … This debut novel marks [Albert] as a hugely talented writer. The world she’s created is believable, claustrophobic and unsettling in the best way. If you’ve ever wondered what life was like for Christopher Robin or Alice Liddell (the inspiration for Alice In Wonderland) after they were immortalised in print, this is for you
Albert’s debut adult novel contains both the magic and the darkness of a classic fairy tale . . . Albert spins a captivating tale exploring what it means for a mother to make art – and at whose expense
Very readable and intriguing
There’s a trend right now for books about books … But it’s Melissa Albert’s The Children, about the lives of a famous (fictional) author’s offspring, that’s my new favourite. Few writers could create something so unique and surprising: I practically inhaled it … Albert creates a twisty – and twisted – grown-up fairy tale that I can’t stop thinking about
Albert’s adult debut is a beguiling read; smart yet satisfying
I might end up using all the adjectives to describe this sharp, lyrical, nuanced riff on family dysfunction and the costs of devoting oneself to art. The Children is a joyously grim, open-eyed, adult fairy tale with the messiest of morals (and I mean that as the highest possible praise), and I had so much damned fun reading it
Profound, beguiling and terrifying, Melissa Albert’s first novel for adults is dangerous witchcraft of the highest order – an insidious and masterfully cast spell of a book about the stories we tell ourselves and each other, childhood’s end and the way that the sharp edges of creative lives draw so much blood. The Children is gorgeous and dreadful, I devoured it
I don't know how, but Melissa Albert has taken my most private nightmares and desires and published them as a dark fairy tale. The Children is a poison apple of a book: glossy, sweet, and absolutely terrifying. I don't think I'll ever get it out of my bloodstream
Melissa Albert has done it again with this eerily beautiful adult debut. Twisty and strange in all the best ways, and rendered in Albert's characteristic dreamlike prose, The Children is exactly the grown-up fairytale I've been looking for. I loved Guin and her complicated relationships, as well as the deft interweaving of memories, stories, and reality – and the many places where they blur. Highly recommend
What is the real cost of a good story? And who is forced to pay it? With The Children, Melissa Albert places a hissing, twitching shadow in the periphery of your vision – but when you turn to look, hoping to assuage your terror, it’s gone. I loved this shimmering, sinister oracle of a book
Haunting, dreamlike, and emotionally fearless, The Children is a reckoning. A book about memory, legacy, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. The Children proves once again that Melissa Albert is one of the most singular voices writing today. Simply put: I loved it
Evocative, arresting, genre-defying, and sublime. The Children altered my emotional state and haunted my every thought. Melissa Albert’s adult debut is not to be missed, particularly by those who love complex family dynamics, doors that lead to both fantasy and horror, and stories that are not what they seem
The Children is a triumph. Albert’s prose is sensuous and textural, creating the impression of a childhood that is both dreadful and enchanting. She writes with lyrical attentiveness to the physicality of her setting . . . and has built a compelling story that exists in the intersection between wonder and terror
From the bestselling YA author Albert, a first novel for adults that blends mystery, fantasy, and a sort of publishing world realism to create a twisty, delicious, and – I mean this in the best way – faintly sinister reading experience . . . If you are a grown-up who, at one time, believed that Narnia (or Neverland, or Oz) was real, this book is for you
Melissa Albert brings all the dark magic and fraught mother/daughter dynamics of her contemporary fantasy YA novels The Hazel Wood and The Bad Ones into her adult debut
| Author | Melissa Albert |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Iggy Costello, Kristen Sieh, Leslie Aleman, Rebecca Lowman, Saskia Maarleveld |
| Duration | 14 hours and 42 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781037204531 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Genre | Fiction: general and literary |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
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