The Vaster Wilds: A Novel by Lauren Groff

Lauren Groff’s take on the classic survival story is a gorgeous sprint of a novel. This breathless story reveals the abject terror and absolute beauty of our natural world. Don’t be surprised if you lose yourself in the wild of the pages.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, TIME, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, LA TIMES, SLATE, HARPER'S BAZAAR and others.

“Part historical, part horror, part breathless thriller, part wilderness survival tale, The Vaster Wilds is a story about the lengths to which we will go to stay alive."—NPR staff pick.

“Lauren Groff just reinvented the adventure novel."—Los Angeles Times.

“Glorious…surroundings come alive in prose that lives and breathes upon the page." —Boston Globe.


A taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, about one spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive.

A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilization has taught her.

Lauren Groff’s new novel is at once a thrilling adventure story and a penetrating fable about trying to find a new way of living in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism. The Vaster Wilds is a work of raw and prophetic power that tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history, to ask how—and if—we can adapt quickly enough to save ourselves.