In March 1976, near the Caribbean island of Black Conch, a local fisherman - David Baptiste - sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But he attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, a Taino woman cursed by jealous women hundreds of years ago to live in the sea forever as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yet as their love grows, they discover that the world around them is changing - and they cannot escape the curse for ever...

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She is the author of six novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 and the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021, and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Ondaatje Prize and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2021.

Read by Burt Caesar and Marilyn Nnadebe
Abridged by Sara Davies
Editing and Sound Design by Mair Bosworth
Produced in Bristol by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio Show less