Description

There is something special about the night.

For many, dusk and evening conjure thoughts of starlit skies, romance, bedtime stories and rest. For others, the small hours mean fear, vulnerability and sleeplessness. At night things go bump, the familiar world becomes mysterious and uncanny; owls and bats take wing, foxes prowl.

With new material delving deeper into all things nocturnal, Overnight is a hymn to nighttime wildlife, travel, dreams and art. Along the way, Dan Richards meets a fascinating array of people who labour while the rest of us sleep, and brings their work into the light.

From night terror chills to the warmth of dawn on the summer solstice, Overnight will change the way you think about the hours after dark.

Publisher Review

The height of crafted eloquence. The book felt choral to me, all those different nocturnal voices singing at the same time, and the cumulative effect of it is powerful and moving — SAMANTHA HARVEY By the book’s end, night has grown to seem vibrant and companionable * * Observer * * Creatures of the night rejoice – this is the book we’ve been waiting for! A truly addictive read — KEVIN BARRY A revelatory journey into the teeming life of the night. Moving, engrossing, essential — KATHERINE MAY A paean of gratitude to every form of labour in the wee small hours, packed with enough fun facts for an entire pub quiz . . . Curiosity and boundless enthusiasm are what the reader is paying for here. It’s the author’s infectious sincerity that really makes Overnight work * * Spectator * * I loved Overnight. It is both gripping and consoling, and full of an intelligent, querying tenderness for its subjects. I was never sure whether I’d be moved to laughter or tears: often, it was both, and in the end I was sad to leave Richards’ humane and witty company — SARAH PERRY Overnight is a sort of extended thank-you note to the people who keep the world ticking over while the rest of us sleep . . . Richards is an immensely likeable and generous-spirited narrator * * Times Literary Supplement * * In Overnight, Dan Richards introduces us to the shadowy, starlit world of postal workers, night nurses, twenty-four-hour industry, late night radio, search and rescue. We meet desperate rough sleepers, racing demons, new mothers . . . and what shines through most clearly is the humour and the pathos, the remarkable diversity in what it means to live, to work, to love. A lucid dream of a book, one that will keep you up late reading — CAL FLYN Funny and moving and generously various in its voices – a journey after dark in two senses — ROBERT MACFARLANE Dan Richards’ writing spans great gulfs of emotion and experience. He is witty and profound and his curiosity and empathy know no bounds. He takes us deep into the night and brings it utterly alive. He fills that space in our dreams with the reality – of what goes on when the sun goes down — PHILIP HOARE