The Red Children

A new novel from critically acclaimed British author Maggie Gee. A topical and deeply moving meditation on belonging, set in the near future, against a backdrop of migration pressures, climate change and an increasing isolationist mood in the UK.

It''s the 2030s in Ramsgate and four people who don''t look quite human are found sitting, naked, in the early spring sunlight on the quay of a quiet south coast resort. The locals are puzzled - the newcomers are larger and heavier than them and say they are fleeing the heat. Soon more arrive; their tall red-haired leader, The Professor, talks to the universe. The locals talk among themselves. Red people appear everywhere, making friends, going into the caves, liked by some but accused of bringing infection by others. Two rivalrous brothers, Liam and Joe, take different sides as one joins a notorious hard-right group. Their teacher Monica is the first to warn there''ll be trouble - and she''s right, there is, but there is also a great Midsummer Festival, laughter and love. Set in a world in crisis, this original, gripping fable about migration and global warming restores belief in the power of human kindness.