From the author of Assembly - THE MUST-READ NOVEL OF 2025 in the GUARDIAN , SUNDAY TIMES , GQ , ELLE , OBSERVER , INDEPENDENT , RADIO TIMES , BBC , HARPER'S BAZAAR and GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Universality is very funny.' NEW STATESMAN 'A sharp, clever take on contemporary culture.' DAILY MAIL 'Enormous, nasty fun.' LITERARY REVIEW ' Confirms Brown as one of the most intelligent voices writing today.' GUARDIAN ' A smart, thought-provoking and pacy read.' MARIE CLAIRE On an abandoned Yorkshire farm, a group of hippie-anarchists have taken up residence to build a new society. When their leader is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar, an ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind the attack. The longread exposé she writes goes viral - but is there more to the story than meets the eye? Universality unravels the messy aftermath of that exposé through the perspective of each of the mystery's key players: a self-pitying banker, a columnist with secrets, a cult leader with dreams and a fugitive with nothing left to lose.

The follow-up to Natasha Brown's Assembly is a twisty, slippery story of media, class, power and truth. Cutting through the noise, it reveals British society today for what it is. 'A searing, state-of-the-nation novel.' STYLIST 'Confirms Natasha Brown as a major talent.' OBSERVER 'A brilliant, unusual social x-ray of modern Britain.' ANDREW O'HAGAN 'It is impossible to not get utterly sucked in.' JENNY MUSTARD 'Original, vital, and unputdownable.' TESS GUNTY 'An instant classic.

' ELLE 'Utterly phenomenal.' ELIZABETH DAY 'Smart, twisty and original.' DAVID NICHOLLS 'In a class of her own.' FINANCIAL TIMES.