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The Left Hand of Darkness

A groundbreaking feminist literary masterpiece
By Ursula K. Le Guin
Series: S.F. Masterworks
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Brief Description
'Genre cannot contain Ursula Le Guin: she is a genre in herself' Zadie Smith'Groundbreaking' Guardian'No single work did more to upend the genre's conventions' Paris ReviewA lone human emissary journeys from Earth to the planet of Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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A brand new edition of Ursula Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction - The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose habitants can change their gender

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'Genre cannot contain Ursula Le Guin: she is a genre in herself' Zadie Smith

'Groundbreaking' Guardian

'No single work did more to upend the genre's conventions' Paris Review

A lone human emissary journeys from Earth to the planet of Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender.

His goal is to secure Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilisation, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and the culture he encounters.

Forced into a perilous partnership with an outcast on a journey across the planet's bitter, whirling snow, he learns how survival, trust and love take shape in a world nothing like his own.

A visionary classic, The Left Hand of Darkness reshaped fiction with its radical exploration of gender, human connection and power.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM DAVID MITCHELL

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399638319

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 336

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Sci-Fi & Fantasy Science Fiction Series: S.F. Masterworks Ursula K. Le Guin

About the Author

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was a celebrated author whose body of work includes 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children's books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. The breadth and imagination of her work earned her six Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and SFWA's Grand Master, along with the PEN/Malamud and many other awards. In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2016 joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America.

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