A cinematic journey through a fantastical London, where history and myth collide, murder roams the streets, and the everyday becomes magical. Year 1949, city: London. In the fog of the capital is Dennis Knackliyard, an unlucky eighteen-year-old working in an antique shop. One day, during a mission to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fantastical book, a fantasy from another novel. However, it is truly there in his hands. How? Dennis has discovered a book from the Great When, a magical version of London that transcends time and space, where reality blurs with fantasy and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are personified as wondrous, terrifying beings. But this other, magical London must remain secret: if Dennis does not find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks strange and disastrous consequences. Thus begins a journey that explores the secrets of this underground world, accompanied by an eccentric group of magicians, gangsters, and assassins—some from legends, some very real, and all with their own plans. Very quickly, Dennis finds himself at the center of an explosive series of events that may change and endanger both Londons forever.

Enchanting, lyrical, and filled with dark humor, The Great When is the first book in a new series by Alan Moore, a Sunday Times best-seller and literary icon.

“A wild time-travel classic tale. Sadistic, humanitarian, comic, and frightening” - Iain Sinclair

“Exceptional and so powerfully imaginative” - Adam Curtis

“A strange book and a delight” - Mariana Enríquez

“A masterful step from one of our best and unrepentant storytellers” - Heather Parry

Pages: 336, Year of Publication: 1001, Dimensions: 15.3x15.3cm