The Luminaries

This article is about the novel. For the television miniseries, see The Luminaries (miniseries).

The Luminaries
First hardcover edition
AuthorEleanor Catton
Cover artistJenny Grigg[1]
LanguageEnglish
Published2013 (2013) Victoria University Press (New Zealand), Granta Books (UK), Little, Brown and Company (North America)
Publication placeNew Zealand
Media type
  • Print
  • e-book
Pages848 pp.
AwardsBooker Prize
2013
ISBN978-1-84708-431-6
OCLC851827301

The Luminaries is a 2013 novel by Eleanor Catton.[2] Set in New Zealand's South Island in 1866, the novel follows Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to the West Coast settlement of Hokitika to make his fortune on the goldfields. Instead, he stumbles into a tense meeting between twelve local men, and is drawn into a complex mystery involving a series of unsolved crimes.[3] The novel's complex structure is based on the system of Western astrology, with each of the twelve local men representing one of the twelve signs of the zodiac, and with another set of characters representing planets in the solar system.

The novel has won many awards and honours, including the 2013 Booker Prize. It was adapted into the BBC/TVNZ miniseries The Luminaries in 2020.[4][5] In 2022, it was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[6]

  1. ^ Cull, Sandy (3 November 2013). "Cover Story #1: The Luminaries. Designed by Jenny Grigg". About Book Design. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. ^ "BBC News - Man Booker Prize 2013: Toibin and Crace lead shortlist". BBC News. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Man Booker Prize synopsis". Man Booker Prize. 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ "First-look image of Eva Green in BBC Two's The Luminaries". BBC Two. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries hits TV screens this Sunday". 1 News. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ^ "The Big Jubilee Read: A literary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign". BBC. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.