Celestial Lights

‘Exquisite and deeply felt’ VOGUE

‘Beautifully rendered’ GRAZIA

‘Magnificent … melds sharp insight with great heart’ NICOLA DINAN

‘Thoughtful and beautifully compelling’ ALICE WINN

A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about ambition, love and space from the award-winning author of the Women’s Prize longlisted Wandering Souls.

28 January, 1986: Moments after launch, the Challenger shuttle falls from the sky. At the same time, in a small English village, Oliver Ines is born.

Ollie spends his childhood in a bedroom covered in glow-in-the-dark wallpaper, bearing the planets and stars. Decades later, he has become one of the most renowned astronauts of his time. When an enterprising billionaire approaches him to lead a landmark, ten-year mission to the distant moon Europa, Ollie cannot resist the call of history.

As the mission advances deeper into uncharted territory, Ollie finds himself retreating into the past: his school days and years in the Navy, relationships found and lost, becoming a husband and father. But will the world he remembers still be waiting for him when he returns?

Celestial Lights is a breathtaking story of fate, love, and sacrifice that questions what we owe ourselves and our loved ones, when our ambitions and loyalties collide.

‘An affecting study of childhood romance hitting the brick wall of adult reality’ JONATHAN COE, author of The Proof of My Innocence

‘Truly lovely … the scope of an epic’ JO HAMYA, author of The Hypocrite

‘A wonderful and singular reading experience’ JENNY MUSTARD, author of What A Time To Be Alive

‘Incredible … stayed with me long after the page’RED MAGAZINE

‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful’ ELA LEE, author of Minbak

‘Masterful … I was totally absorbed from start to finish’ JYOTI PATEL, author of The Things That We Lost

‘A moving story that stays with you’ ROMALYN ANTE, author of Agimat

‘Stunning, exhilarating and unforgettable’ ELIANA RAMAGE, author of To the Moon and Back

© 2026 Fourth Estate (Audiobook): 9780008706425

Release date

Audiobook: 26 March 2026