First published in Great Britain in 2006 by Virago Press, reprinted three times. London: Virago Press 2006. Paperback, 473 pages.
Cover design: LBBG – Duncan Spilling. Hand lettering: Stephen Raw (after Hans Tisdall).

2007 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction
Shortlisted for 2006 Man Booker Prize for Fiction
Shortlisted for 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction

The blurb:
Tender and tragic, set against the
turbulent backdrop of wartime Britain,
The Night Watch is the extraordinary story of four Londoners: Kay, who wanders the streets in mannish clothes, restless and searching ... Helen, who harbours a troubling secret … Viv, glamour girl, recklessly loyal to her soldier lover … and Duncan, an apparent innocent, struggling with demons of his own.
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked-out streets, illicit liaisons and sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, this is an astonishing novel.
’A truthful, lovely book. that needs no conjuring tricks to make you want to read it again’
Philip Hensher, OBSERVER
’She produces terrific narrative tension, whether in a mad ambulance ride through the bombs or in loving someone other than the one you’re with’
John Hardiag, DAILY MAIL
’Beautifully written, deeply moving and utterly engrossing’
ELLE
’Bums with a slow but scotching intensity … Sarah Waters is a great writer’
Mark Bostridge, INDEPENDENT on SUNDAY

Sarah Waters at Wikipedia
Sarah Waters, the official website
The Night Watch at Wikipedia

This seems to be on your wishlist. Happy reading, pippis!

Oh yes, a very much wanted book! Thank you ever so much for everything, Tarna! It's always wonderful to stay in your home town, even if for a fleeting moment...

A rainy Midsummer is just the way I like it. The Night Watch was perhaps a slightly heavy read for the occasion, but it kept me company under a blanket and took me to another time in history. The main characters each had their peculiarities that I came to like, strengths that shone so dimly on the pages when they could have been so much more. Shame the dialogue was overly dull at times, even to the point of being pointless. Those pages could have rather been used to give the reader something more of the characters' future choices. Though none of the characters seemed to achieve true happiness or even satisfactory level of happiness, I was rather sad to read the last pages. One sentence brought it all together: "..we never seem to love the people we ought to, I can't think why..."

Wishlist book needs to travel a bit first, but it'll get to a new home, sooner or later...

Thank you so much - I've loved those books by Sarah Waters that I've read, so I look forward reading this too!

A really good book, interesting, intesive too. I liked the way the story went backwards, but still now, after finishing the book, I'd really like to know what is going to happen next!

Sending to Mecu next!

This book is finally in Hämeenlinna! Thanks to the mistake-making Posti, its journey took much longer than it should have. But no worries - I wasn't running out of books to read. :) This book will fit perfectly to one spot in Reading Women Challenge.

And the book didn't arrive alone; it came with two cute little frogs and a lovely card. Thanks Chania!