The Secret Scripture
Irish novelist, born 1955. Won the Costa Novel Award in 2008 and 2016 and the Walter Scott Prize in 2012 and 2017.
The Secret Scripture is a 2008 novel by Sebastian Barry. It won the Costa Novel Award in 2008.
In historical fiction, family saga
On 2 of the 14 lists it was eligible for.
The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.
At a glance
- Author
- Sebastian Barry
- First published
- 2008
- Length
- 432 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Booker Prize shortlist, 2008
- Costa Novel Award winner, 2008
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Family saga, Religion and faith, Psychological
Is The Secret Scripture worth reading?
2 of the 14 best-of lists it could have made include it: the Costa Novel Award and the Booker Prize.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 2008) | Shortlist | See the list |
| Costa (Whitbread) Novel Award (winners and shortlists) (Costa, 2008) | Winner | See the list |
Best edition of The Secret Scripture
The edition we link to is the Faber & Faber paperback (2015), 432 pages.
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber (paperback, 2015)
- Pages
- 432
- ISBN
- 9780571323951
How critics, prizes and readers rate The Secret Scripture
Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 56% of the points available on prize lists, against 0% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like The Secret Scripture
If you liked The Secret Scripture, try Days Without End.
