The final novel in the highly acclaimed and beloved Thursday Next series. Will
\nThursday find her happy ending?
\nSwindon-based Literary Detective Thursday Next is embarking on her eighth and final
\nadventure: ‘Dark Reading Matter’ and she is well aware of the fact. The problem is, others
\nare too. Old foes and new are plotting a terrible revenge: To disrupt the narrative and
\nmake Dark Reading Matter not just unreadable but unpublishable. Thursday can’t let that
\nhappen and needs to use all her guile and narrative trickery to unmask the antagonists
\nand guide the series to a satisfactory conclusion.
\nIt won’t be easy. The Martians have broken out of their HG Wells novel and threaten both
\nthe real world and the Bookworld. Agents from a higher reality want unfettered access to
\nthe Dark Reading Matter, the realm where deleted books and unrealised literary ideas end
\nup. A Gateway to Hell has opened up at Wantage’s Shakesmania, the nation’s second to
\nworst Shakespeare theme park and the cosy world of Enid Blyton has been hi-jacked by
\nUltra Right Wing Nationalists. With Reality Field Distortion experiments going haywire, a
\npartially redacted donkey, a Bookworld on the brink of losing its imaginative energy to Big
\nTech and a murderous stamp collector with Philaticide on their mind, Thursday has to
\nnavigate a tightrope of borderline unusable narrative devices to bring the series to a
\nsatisfactory conclusion.
\nIt’s a tall order, but Thursday has a secret weapon: Her own adaptability, her husband
\nLanden, a host of stalwart friends and ultimately the most loyal compatriots she can call
\nupon: Her readers.
\n‘Hugely funny and gloriously imaginative’ Daily Express
\n‘Fans of the late Douglas Adams, or, even, Monty Python, will feel at home with Fforde’
\nHerald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Signed Hardback | Dark Reading Matter<\/em> by Jasper Fforde<\/p>\n Secure your signed copy of Dark Reading Matter<\/em>, the highly anticipated final instalment in Jasper Fforde\u2019s beloved Thursday Next<\/em> series.<\/p>\n In this eighth and concluding adventure, literary detective Thursday Next faces her most complex and dangerous challenge yet, as the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to unravel. Packed with Fforde\u2019s signature wit, imagination and genre-bending storytelling, this is a must-read finale for long-time fans and newcomers alike.<\/p>\n Publishing 15 October 2026<\/strong>, this signed edition is expected to be in high demand as readers look to complete their collections.<\/p>\n Pre-order now to guarantee your copy. Carefully packaged and shipped from an independent UK bookshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":118890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[216,16428,26102],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-118889","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-fiction-hardback","7":"product_cat-pre-order-carousel","8":"product_cat-signed-and-special-editions","10":"first","11":"instock","12":"sold-individually","13":"taxable","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"purchasable","16":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n