The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji SPRAYED EDGE

Five women. Three generations. A mountain of family history.

The Valiat family are in crisis. Elizabeth, the regal matriarch, remained in Tehran despite the revolution with only the Islamic law-breaking Niaz for company. Meanwhile, in America, Shirin, Seema and Bita are wondering if their gleaming lives in ‘the land of plenty’ are all they had hoped for.

When an annual vacation goes wildly awry and Shirin is arrested, long-held Valiat family secrets begin to surface. As their lives are turned upside down, could revealing the truth save their family or might it break them apart, once and for all?

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2025 ‘Enormously entertaining’ THE TIMES ‘As funny as it is moving’ GUARDIAN ‘Unputdownable’ HARPER'S BAZAAR ‘Funny, sharp and insightful … a triumph’ LAUREN LAVERNE ‘A joy of a debut’ DAVID MITCHELL ‘Magnificent BERNARDINE EVARISTO

A most anticipated novel of 2025 in Stylist, BBC and iNews. ‘Funny, gutsy and confidently written … an outstanding debut’ DIANA EVANS, 2025 Women’s Prize Judge ‘Mesmerising’ MONICA ALI ‘Darkly funny, richly satisfying’ SARAH WINMAN ‘Riotous … will have you hooked’ STYLIST ‘As exuberant as it is sharp’ iNEWS ‘A sweeping and irreverent tale’ BBC ‘Gloriously engrossing’ TASH AW ‘Exuberant, comic, perceptive’ AMINA CAIN ‘A very brilliant, very special book’ JESSICA STANLEY ‘An unforgettable read’ JOSIE FERGUSON

Format:Paperback / softback 384 pages
Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint:Fourth Estate Ltd
ISBN:9780008589066
Published:29 Jan 2026
Classifications:Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Sagas
Weight:260g