The Child in Time

This article is about the novel. For the BBC film, see The Child in Time (film). For the Deep Purple song, see Child in Time.

The Child in Time
Sketch of the face of a young child
First edition cover
AuthorIan McEwan
Cover artistLeonardo da Vinci, detail from The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, 1499-1500
PublisherJonathan Cape
Publication date
1987
Publication placeUK
Media typePrint hardcover
Pages220
Awards1987 Whitbread Novel Award
ISBN978-0224024990
Websitewww.ianmcewan.com/books/child.html

The Child in Time (1987) is a novel by Ian McEwan. The story concerns Stephen, an author of children's books, and his wife, two years after the kidnapping of their three-year-old daughter Kate.

The Child in Time divided critics. It won the Whitbread Novel Award for 1987 and has sometimes been declared one of McEwan's greatest novels, but others criticise the book as heavy-handed.