SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION Bradford, December 1962. A precocious Mercy makes her reluctant entrance into the world, torn from the warm embrace of her mother's womb, to a chaotic household that seems to have no place for her. Her siblings do not understand her, her mother's attention is given to the Church, and the entire family lives at the whims of her father's quick temper. Left to herself, Mercy finds solace in books, her imagination, and the quiet comfort of her faithful toy, Dolly. But escapism has its limits, and as the grip of family, faith and fear threatens to close in, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future; one where she is seen, heard, and her family set free. The Mercy Step is a sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl's quiet rebellion, and her refusal to be broken.

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A sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl's quiet rebellion and her refusal to be broken. Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026Shortlisted for the British Book Award - Discover Prize'Dark, humorous, and passionately captures the unique realities of the northern Black experience' - The ObserverSet in 1960s Bradford, The Mercy Step follows Mercy, a precocious young child facing a world far too big for her small body. She lives with her Windrush-generation parents in a crowded household where her mother's attention is stretched between church and family, and her father's temper is something to be endured or avoided. Feeling like an outsider within her own home, Mercy retreats into books and the companionship of her beloved doll, Dolly, while learning early how to navigate the flaws and failings of the adults around her. Yet Mercy is nothing if not resilient. Armed with humour, style and fierce imagination, she quietly begins to plot her escape from a traumatic childhood. Raw and deeply affecting, Mercy's story is one of Black British culture, childhood, family and survival in 1960s Britain. Critical to understanding these untold stories, Marcia's debut is not to be missed.