The Children of Men by P. D. James

The Children of Men

P. D. James

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Paperback · May 16, 2006

A modern science fiction classic from an acclaimed bestselling author: The year is 2021.

We earn from qualifying purchases.

Who it’s for
Bleak, cerebral, and oddly intimate—best when you want the ruins to speak too.
Genres
Dystopian, Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic, Suspense
Published
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, May 16, 2006

Nearest books

Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic.

  1. WeYevgeny Zamyatin, Bela Shayevich52% matchAlso shares Dystopian
  2. Childhood's EndArthur C. Clarke, Eric Michael Summerer64% matchAlso shares Dystopian
  3. Adulthood RitesOctavia E. Butler, J.D Jackson58% match
  4. On the BeachNevil Shute51% matchAlso shares Dystopian
  5. War of the WorldsH.G. Wells54% match
  6. Children of TimeAdrian Tchaikovsky67% matchAlso shares Dystopian
  7. DiasporaGreg Egan57% match
  8. Shadow of the ScorpionNeal Asher53% match

For younger readers: We Are the Ants, Alone Out Here, Star Splitter

Start with three books, and this one can be the first.

Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.

Join the waitlist

About this book

A modern science fiction classic from an acclaimed bestselling author: The year is 2021. No child has been born for twenty-five years. The human race faces extinction. "A book of such accelerating tension that the pages seem to turn faster as one moves along." —Chicago Tribune Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing.

Continue reading

Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race. Told with P. D. James’s trademark suspense, insightful characterization, and riveting storytelling, The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future. The inspiration for director Alfonso Cuarón's modern masterpiece of a film.

Why This Clicks

Bleak, cerebral, and oddly intimate—best when you want the ruins to speak too.

Come here for

  • apocalyptic pressure with a literary edge
  • built-in book-club conversation

Expect

  • layered dystopian stakes
  • political fiction with a speculative frame

Where it sits

Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic66%
Dystopian50%
Suspense44%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
  • Suspense
  • Dystopian
Authors
P. D. James
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published
May 16, 2006
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic