Rachel Joyce is the author of the international bestsellers THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, PERFECT, THE LOVE SONG OF MISS QUEENIE HENNESSY, MAUREEN, THE MUSIC SHOP, MISS BENSON’S BEETLE, THE HOMEMADE GOD, and a collection of interlinked short stories, A SNOW GARDEN & OTHER STORIES.

Rachel’s books have been translated into 37 languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The critically acclaimed film of the novel, for which Rachel also wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023. MISS BENSON’S BEETLE won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize in 2021. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year in December 2012 and was shortlisted for the UK Author of the Year in 2014. In 2024, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kingston University.

Rachel has written over 20 original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4. She lives with her family near Stroud.

Books by Rachel Joyce

The Homemade God

by Rachel Joyce - Fiction, Women's Fiction

With sparkling wit and insight, this powerful novel from the bestselling author of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY reminds us that family is everything, even when it falls apart.

Miss Benson’s Beetle

by Rachel Joyce - Fiction, Historical Fiction

From the bestselling author of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY comes an uplifting, irresistible novel about two women on a life-changing adventure, where they must risk everything, break all the rules and discover their best selves --- together.