The Ministry of Time: Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2025

Revolving around the titular establishment set up to bring expatriates from the past to near-future London, this extraordinarily assured debut blends love story, time-travelling tale and state-of-the-nation commentary to terrifyingly clever and ferociously funny effect.

Waterstones Science-Fiction & Fantasy Book of the Month for April 2025

A civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering 'expats' from across history to test whether time-travel is feasible. Her role is to work as a 'bridge': living with, supporting and monitoring expat '1847' - Commander Graham Gore, a former Victorian polar explorer.

Gore, an adventurer by trade, soon adjusts to this bizarre new world of washing machines, feminism and Spotify; and during a long, sultry summer the pair move from awkwardness to friendship to something more.

But as the true shape of the project that brought them together begins to emerge, Gore and the bridge are forced to confront their past choices and imagined futures. C an love triumph over the histories that have shaped them? And how do you defy that history when it is living in your house?

This book has been printed with four different colour cover designs, available for limited time only. Colours will be assigned at random when your order is despatched.

MEDIA REVIEWS

The debut of the year by a distance . . . propulsive and exhilarating - Five of the year's best summer reads, Observer

What a thrill to come to Kaliane Bradley's debut, The Ministry of Time, a novel where things happen, lots of them, and all of them are exciting to read about and interesting to think about . . . give in to the tide of this book, and let it pull you along. It's very smart; it's very silly; and the obvious fun never obscures completely the sheer, gorgeous, wild stretch of her ideas - Ella Risbridger, Guardian

Terrific, moving . . . Bradley's writing is clear and stylish, her dialogue dry and sprightly; the serious matters of love and mortality are cloaked in humour, but never too heavily. If you loved Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife, or the big hit of 2022, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, this will be right up your street . . . don't wait for this tale to come to the small screen. Crack this book open and you'll see how time can disappear - Erica Wagner, Financial Times

Simply adorable . . . It's the book I have recommended to friends with the most success - Books of the Year, Spectator

This is extraordinary writing, with unforgettable characters and a spine tingling love affair, and manages to be both a serious look at the weight of history and an absolute riot. A true original - Francesca Steele, i Newspaper

I loved its combination of extreme whimsy, high seriousness and cool understatement - and migration-as-time-travel is a clever conceit - Johanna Thomas-Corr, The Times

Fizzing with sharp one-liners about everything from Tinder to e-scooters, the novel is also a thoughtful meditation on imperialism and immigration - 50 of the best new books to dive into, Guardian

An addictive sci-fi romantic comedy . . . Laugh-out-loud funny and a suprisingly powerful meditation on the climate crisis, it's above all exciting, fun and a good old-fashioned page turner that you'll recommend to all your friends - Best new books to read in 2024, Independent

A thoughtful dive into colonialism via time-travelling expats, the perfect beach read with some literary heft . . . Bradley's debut is also acute on what refuge means in a swiftly changing world - Nilanjana Roy, Journalists pick their favourite book of 2024 so far, Financial Times

Smart, funny and moving, this debut has been the hit of the year - Five of the best science fiction books of 2024, Guardian

Intelligent and witty . . . a clever, funny yarn that breathes fresh air into time-travel novels, postcolonial narratives and romance stories alike . . . a sparkling delight - Bidisha Mamata, Observer

A triumph - Sara Lawrence, Daily Mail

Comedy, betrayal and romance collide in a story that explores everything from climate change and colonialism to friendship, hope and forgiveness. Start backing out of your weekend plans now . . . - Book of the Week, Stylist

A powerfully drawn love story, an insider's takedown of murky bureaucracy, an action thriller . . . It's a fun ride - Evening Standard

A lot of fun - a romantic comedy wrapped in a science fiction premise with plenty of thought-provoking observations on history. I'm loving it - Cathy Rentzenbrink, Daily Mail

This romp of a spy thriller-meets-romance sees a civil servant help a time traveller from 1847 adjust to the modern world. But they soon question the program that united them - The best 10 books of 2024, People

One of 2024's best debuts so far, the book is both goofy and emphatically serious - a time-travelling romcom that's also a subtle rumination on the legacies of empire and colonialism - Best summer books, Financial Times

Her utterly winning book is a result of violating not so much the laws of physics as the boundaries of genre. Imagine if The Time Traveler's Wife had an affair with A Gentleman in Moscow . . . Readers, I envy you: There's a smart, witty novel in your future - Ron Charles, Washington Post