The Rain Before it Falls - Jonathan Coe's heartbreaking novel of family secrets
Deeply moving and compelling, The Rain Before it Falls is the story of three generations of one family riven by tragedy. When Rosamund, a reluctant bearer of family secrets, dies suddenly, a mystery is left for her niece Gill to unravel. Some photograph albums and tapes point towards a blind girl named Imogen whom no one has seen in twenty years. The search for Imogen and the truth of her inheritance becomes a shocking story of mothers and daughters and of how sadness, like a musical refrain, may haunt us down the years.
'Spectacular, heartbreaking, beautifully written. Rosamund's story is one of the most extraordinary and compelling you will ever read. Impossible to put down, I loved every minute of it' Sunday Express
'A sad, often very moving story of mothers and daughters' Guardian
'Entirely compelling...the plot will keep you rapt...reminiscent of Ian McEwan at his most effective' New Statesman
Jonathan Coe's novels are filled with moving, astute observations of life and love, and are written with a revealing honesty that has captivated a generation of readers. His other titles, The Accidental Woman, The Rotters' Club (winner of the Everyman Wodehouse prize), The Closed Circle, The Dwarves of Death, The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim, The House of Sleep (winner of the 1998 Prix Médicis Étranger), A Touch of Love, What a Carve Up! (winner of the 1995 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Middle England (Costa Novel Award), Mr Wilder and Me and Bournville are all available in Penguin paperback.
Written with his signature wit, Jonathan Coe's unmissable new novel, The Proof of My Innocence, is available to order now!
- New eBook additions
- New eBook additions for Kids
- New eBook additions for Teens
- Most popular
- Most popular for Kids
- Most popular for Teens
- Available Now
- Available Now for Kids
- Available Now for Teens
- Book Club 2025-2026: Guaranteed Available : Karapu Pukapuka: Wātea Mārika 2025-2026
- Classic Literature Book Club : Guaranteed Available
- Travel Club 2025-2026: Guaranteed Available
- Reese's Pieces
- See all ebooks collections
- New eAudiobook additions
- AudioBook Club 2026-2027: Guaranteed Available
- New eAudiobook additions for Kids
- New eAudiobook additions for Teens
- Most popular eAudiobooks
- Classic "Reads" AudioBook Club : Guaranteed Available
- Most popular eAudiobooks for Kids
- Most popular eAudiobooks for Teens
- Available now on eAudio
- Available Now on eAudio for Kids
- Available Now on eAudio for Teens
- See all audiobooks collections
- Ngā pukapuka i te reo Māori : Books in the Māori Language
- Tusi Samoa : Samoan Books
- Ngaahi tohi ʻi he lea faka-Tongá : Books in Tongan
- 中文书籍 Zhōngwén shūjí : Books in Chinese
- 中文杂志 Zhōngwén zázhì : Magazines in Chinese
- മലയാളത്തിലെ പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ : Books in Malayalam
- Cărți în limba română: Books in Romanian
- Книги українською мовою : Books in Ukrainian
- Książki w języku polskim : Books in Polish
- किताबें हिंदी में Kitaaben hindee mein : Books in Hindi
- Buugaag af-soomaali ku qoran : Books in Somali
- Livres en français : Books in French
- Magazines en français : Magazines in French
- See all language collections collections
