The Second Sleep was published by Hutchinson in 2019. The opening pages appear to describe a young priest traveling through rural Wessex in the 1460s to conduct a funeral. The landscape, the social structures, and the Church hierarchy all suggest late medieval England. Then the reader discovers that the date is not the 1460s but the year 1468 — counted not from the birth of Christ but from a catastrophic event that destroyed technological civilization eight hundred years earlier. This is not the past but a distant future that has reverted to a medieval state.
The revelation — which Harris planted as a slow-burning realization rather than a dramatic twist — transformed the novel from period fiction into science fiction. The Church, which has rebuilt society after the collapse, has made it illegal to excavate the ruins of the old civilization, fearing that recovered technology would destabilize the new order. The novel’s central question was whether a society that has survived one apocalypse has the right to suppress knowledge that might cause another.
The Genre Shift
The novel’s most daring move was its refusal to signal its genre from the outset. Many readers began it believing it was historical fiction and experienced the revelation as a genuine shock. Harris’s gamble — that the surprise would enhance rather than alienate — paid off critically, though some readers who wanted a straight historical novel were disappointed.
Collecting The Second Sleep
First edition (Hutchinson, London, 2019): Boards with dust jacket.
Approximate market values:
- UK first edition, fine in jacket: $15–$30
- US first edition (Knopf): $10–$20
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation. The novel’s unique genre position gives it particular interest among Harris completists.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the twist in The Second Sleep? The novel opens as what appears to be a medieval murder mystery, but the reader gradually discovers that the story is set in a future after technological civilisation has collapsed. The “ancient artefacts” the characters find are plastic bottles, iPhones, and printed books. Harris does not reveal the twist upfront — it unfolds through accumulating evidence.