Which J.K. Rowling novel features the fictional village of Pagford?

J.K. Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy features the fictional village of Pagford.

Pagford is an English village whose local politics drive the novel’s plot. When parish councillor Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly, a casual vacancy opens on the council. The election campaign brings private resentments and public conflicts to the surface, especially around social inequality and the nearby Fields housing estate.

The novel was published in 2012 and was Rowling’s first adult novel after Harry Potter. It has no supernatural elements, and its characters are not connected to Hogwarts or the wizarding world. That difference makes Pagford a useful identifier for the book.

The BBC adapted The Casual Vacancy as a three-part television serial broadcast in 2015. The adaptation starred Michael Gambon as Howard Mollison and Rory Kinnear as Colin “Cubby” Wall, while the novel itself remains the primary source for the setting and story.