Skip to product information
1 of 1

Goldsboro Books

Swann

Swann

by Carol Shields

Publisher Stoddart

Genre:

Publication date:

Available from:

  • Unsigned
  • USA First Edition
  • Hardcover


Regular price £70.00
Regular price Sale price £70.00
Sale Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Low stock

Rendering loop-subscriptions

Limited Edition Copies

View full details
  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

About the book

Swann is the story of four individuals who become entwined in the life of Mary Swann, a rural Canadian poet whose authentic and unique voice is discovered only hours before her husband hacks her to pieces.

Who is Mary Swann? And how could she have produced these works of genius in almost complete isolation? Mysteriously, all traces of Swann's existence - her notebook, the first draft of her work, even her photograph - gradually vanish as the characters in this engrossing novel become caught up in their own concepts of who Mary Swann was.

Collapsible content

About the Author

Carol Shields

Carol Shields, born 1935, was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.


Her first novel, Small Ceremonies, was published in 1976, followed by The Box Garden in 1977. That year she worked as a sessional lecturer in the English Department at the University of Ottawa. She taught Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia while living in Vancouver from 1978 to 1980.


Carol Shields won the 1998 Orange Prize for Fiction for her 1997 novel Larry's Party. Her last novel, Unless (2002), was nominated for the 2002 Giller Prize, the Governor General of Canada Literary Award, the Booker Prize and the 2003 Orange Prize for Fiction. It was awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.


On retirement in 2000, Shields became Professor Emerita at the University of Manitoba.

Collapsible content

GPSR EU Safety Information

1. Manufacturer Contact Information

Goldsboro Books Ltd - 23-27 Cecil Court, London, WC2N4EZ, enquiries@goldsborobooks.com, 02074979230

2. EU Authorised Representative Information

Easy Access System Europe - Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia, gpsr.requests@easproject.com

3. Safety Warnings

Not applicable

  • Fellowship: August 2026 Revealed

    Fellowship: August 2026 Revealed

    Rebecca McDonnell

    For August 2026’s Fellowship selection, we wanted a story that showcases everything we love about the genre at its most ambitious: sweeping political intrigue, unforgettable characters, rich world-building, and the...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Fellowship: August 2026 Revealed

    For August 2026’s Fellowship selection, we wanted a story that showcases everything we love about the genre at its most ambitious: sweeping political intrigue, unforgettable characters, rich world-building, and the...

  • The Psychology of the Subscription Reader

    The Psychology of the Subscription Reader

    David H Headley

    Regularly, it could be a customer visiting one of our shops, or during a publisher meeting, or even at one of our events, somebody discovers that Goldsboro Books has not...

    1 comment
    David H Headley

    The Psychology of the Subscription Reader

    Regularly, it could be a customer visiting one of our shops, or during a publisher meeting, or even at one of our events, somebody discovers that Goldsboro Books has not...

    1 comment
  • Why Independent Bookshop Week Matters

    Why Independent Bookshop Week Matters

    David H Headley

    Every year, Independent Bookshop Week gives us the chance to celebrate something remarkable. Not books. Bookshops. At first glance, that distinction might seem odd. Surely the books are the important part?...

    1 comment
    David H Headley

    Why Independent Bookshop Week Matters

    Every year, Independent Bookshop Week gives us the chance to celebrate something remarkable. Not books. Bookshops. At first glance, that distinction might seem odd. Surely the books are the important part?...

    1 comment
  • Why We Still Queue for Signatures

    Why We Still Queue for Signatures

    David H Headley

    The final panel finishes. The applause dies away. People stretch their legs, gather their bags, and begin making their way towards the exits. Or at least they could. Instead, they...

    David H Headley

    Why We Still Queue for Signatures

    The final panel finishes. The applause dies away. People stretch their legs, gather their bags, and begin making their way towards the exits. Or at least they could. Instead, they...

1 of 4