Universality

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025

From the author of Assembly – a Spectator, BBC and Dazed Book of the Year

"An instant classic." — Elle

"Utterly phenomenal." — Elizabeth Day

"Smart, twisty and original." — David Nicholls

"A sharp, clever take on contemporary culture." — Daily Mail

"In a class of her own." — Financial Times

On an abandoned Yorkshire farm, a group of hippie-anarchists have taken up residence to build a new society. When their leader is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar, an ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind the attack. The longread exposé she writes goes viral – but is there more to the story than meets the eye?

Universality unravels the messy aftermath of that exposé through the perspective of each of the mystery's key players: a self-pitying banker, a columnist with secrets, a cult leader with dreams, and a fugitive with nothing left to lose...

The follow-up to Natasha Brown's Assembly is a twisty, slippery story of media, class, power and truth. Cutting through the noise, it reveals British society today for what it is.

"A searing, state-of-the-nation novel." — Stylist

"Confirms Natasha Brown as a major talent." — Observer

"A brilliant, unusual social x-ray of modern Britain." — Andrew O'Hagan

"It is impossible to not get utterly sucked in." — Jenny Mustard

"One of the most intelligent voices writing today." — Guardian

"Original, vital, and unputdownable." — Tess Gunty

"Brown is an astute political observer, easily dismembering cancel culture and our media circus." — New Statesman