Cover of The Luminaries

The Luminaries

Eleanor Catton, 2013

Canadian and New Zealand novelist, born 1985. Won the Booker Prize in 2013.

The Luminaries is a 2013 novel by Eleanor Catton. It won the Booker Prize in 2013.

Rising Star
  • Readers' Favourite
  • Prize Winner

In historical fiction

On 3 of the 16 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Eleanor Catton
First published
2013
Length
848 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Historical fiction, Crime, Love story

Is The Luminaries worth reading?

3 of the 16 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them the Booker Prize and The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency).

ListPlaceOriginal
Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 2013)WinnerSee the list
The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency, 2022)ListedSee the list
Walter Scott Prize (winners and shortlists) (Abbotsford Trust, 2014)ShortlistSee the list

Best edition of The Luminaries

The edition we link to is the Granta Books paperback (2024), 848 pages.

Publisher
Granta Books (paperback, 2024)
Pages
848
ISBN
9781783787265

How critics, prizes and readers rate The Luminaries

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 42% of the points available on prize lists, against 13% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 0% on critics' lists.

Critics
0%
Prizes
42%
Readers and booksellers
13%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Luminaries

If you liked The Luminaries, try Wolf Hall, Midnight's Children or Beloved.

Lists used on this page