The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2012) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Harold Fry: Recent retiree, Harold Fry, receives a surprising letter one morning. An old colleague, Queenie, is dying and she writes to say goodbye. Enroute to send a reply, he decides that a simple letter is not enough. And so starts his pilgrimmage. On the spur of the moment he begins his 500-mile journey to Queenie, believing this act of faith might save her.
• Maureen Fry: Harold's wife
• Queenie Hennessey: A one-time colleague of Harolds, Queenie was the first female accountant at the Brewery. She now lies dying in the Scottish town of Berwick, and Harold begins to walk to her in order to save her, as she once saved him.
• David Fry: Harold and Maureen's son, David is estranged from his father.
• Rex: Harold and Maureen's neighbour
• Girl in the Garage: The girl who prompts Harold's journey.
• Wilf: A young man who joins Harold on his journey.
• Rich Lion: A middle-aged man who joins Harold on his journey.
• Kate: A middle-aged woman who joins Harold on his journey.
• Jane Austen: Well known classic English author driving tourists to visit England and see the places appearing in her works
• Aunty Muriel: I just started this, and I love the movement of the dialogue and plot.
• Henry: Husband, retired, Decides to Walk across England
• Mick: Add a description of this character.
• Sister Philomena: Nurse to Queenie
• Queenie Hennessy: In a nursing home dying of cancer. Use to work with Henry
• Elizabeth
• Martina: A woman Harold meets along the his journey
• Joan: Harold's mother
• Napier: A boss from Harold's past, a mean man known for being a bully and thug
• Rachel Joyce

Quotes edit see section history

• “Harold felt winded. If he moved so much as a limb, even a muscle, he was afraid it would trigger an abundance of feeling he was doing his best to contain.”

• “It occured to him it was Maureen who spoke to David and told him their news. It was Maureen who had always written Harold's name ('Dad') in the letters and cards. It was even Maureen who had found the nursing home for his father. And it begged the question - as he pushed the button at the pelican crossing - that if she was, in effect, Harold. 'Then who am I?'”

• “The hiking man continued talking. It occured to Harold that he was one of those people who didn't require people in order to have a conversation.”

• “Harold sat is silence. The silver-haired gentleman was in truth nothing like the man Harold had first imagined him to be. He was a chap like himself, with a unique pain; and yet there would be no knowing that if you passed him in the street, or sat opposite him in a cafe and did not share his teacake. Harold pictured the gentleman on a station platform, smart in his suit, looking no different from anyone else. It must be the same all over England. People were buying milk, or filling their cars in with petrol, or even posting letters. And what no one else knew was the appalling weight of the thing they were carrying inside. The superhuman effort it took sometimes to be normal and a part of things that appeared both easy and everyday. The loneliness of that.”

• “He visited the cathedral, and sat in its chilled light, pouring like water from above. He reminded himself that centuries ago men had built churches, bridges and ships; all of them, a leap of madness and faith, if you thought about it. When no one was looking, Harold slipped to his knees and asked for the safety of the people he had left behind, and those who were ahead. He asked for the will to keep going. He also apologised for not believing.”

• “It struck him as strange but true that tourists bought trinkets and souvenirs of religious places because they had no idea what else to do when they got there.”

• “Exeter took Harold by surprise. He had developed a slower inner rhythm that the fury of the city now threatened to overturn. He had felt comfortable in the security of the open land and sky, where everything took its place. He had felt himself to be part of something bigger than being simply Harold.”

• “He looked for traces of the land beneath his feet and all he found was where it had been replaced with paving stones and tarmac. Everything alarmed him. The traffic. The buildings. The crowds pushed past, shouting into their mobile phones. He smiled at each face and it was exhausting, taking in so many strangers.”

• “He no longer saw distance in terms of miles. He measured it with his remembering.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Kingsbridge: The start
• Berwick: The destination
• Exeter
• Fossebridge Road: the address where Harold & Maureen have lived for many years
• Dartmoor
• Eastbourne
• Bantham
• Hexham
• Cambridge
• Devon
• Darlington

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Describe this theme.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Rachel Joyce (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Man Booker Prize (Finalist, 2012, Longlist)

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction › Domestic Life
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary