Dear Historian
Found a better price? Request a price match
Dear Historian
Dear Historian
Margaret and Lucy are improbable friends who navigate their age gap, the cult of personality, graveyards in the rain, and bad knees, from cult graphic novelist Joff Winterhart.
"One of the most talented graphic novelists in the UK" β Zadie Smith
At this point in her life, septuagenarian Margaret is particular about the things she likes. These include looking out of train windows, graveyards in the rain, and an afternoon sherry. But most of all, it is her lifelong subject, the obscure 17th century polymath J.W Preece, whom she has devoted her life to studying.
Margaret doesn't like drawing attention to herself, extravagant behaviour, and television.
When she meets a young history TV producer, Lucy, they form a tentative bond, despite Margaret's reluctance to be drawn into the media world. Several decades Margaret's junior, heartbroken and unsure of herself, Lucy finds curious new inspiration as she falls under the spell of Margaret's passions.
With inimitable sensitivity and humour, cult-favourite graphic novelist Joff Winterhart returns with an irresistible portrait of two women navigating their age gap, loss, self-made-celebrity-historians, and bad knees...
"Just when I thought I couldn't love Joff Winterhart more, along came Dear Historian. It has all the wry humanity and keen eye for detail that won Driving Short Distances and Days of the Bagnold Summer such passionate fans" β Patrick Gale
"Even in the prose aisles, you'd be hard-pressed to find a piece of literary fiction as nuanced and beautiful as this." β Vulture, on Other People
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781787332669
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 12 March 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Jonathan Cape
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 25.0mm
Width: 205.0mm
Height: 276.0mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 192
About the Author
Joff Winterhart is an artist, writer, occasional film-maker, 'drummer', and dog fan. His graphic novel Days of the Bagnold Summer was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award in 2012 and adapted into a film. His second graphic novel Driving Short Distances came out in 2017. He also made the animated films Two Guys I know and Violet and Turquoise, which won the Cymru BAFTA for best animation in 2003. He lives in Bristol, where he plays drums and writes songs in the long-running band Bucky, and thinks about getting a new dog.
More from Graphic Novels
View allWhy buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
