Yardie was the debut novel of Jamaican-born British writer Victor Headley, being described as "the publishing story of 1992"[1] when it became the first title produced by Dotun Adebayo's newly established X Press.

[2] The novel achieved impressive sales, initially through outlets other than traditional bookshops; according to Goodreads: "Yardie is, quite simply, a literary sensation in England.

Originally published by X Press, a two-man operation, the book was produced on a desktop computer and distributed through unusual channels: it was sold at clothing shops, hairdressers, and even on top of over-turned dumpsters outside of nightclubs.

"[5] Set largely in 1980s Hackney, the novel borrows its title from yardie, a term stemming from the slang name originally given to occupants of "government yards" — social housing projects with very basic amenities, and is based on the fictional story a young Jamaican's rise from the streets of London to the top of the drug-dealing underworld.

Publishers Weekly (reviewing the Atlantic Monthly Press edition) called Yardie a "well-crafted crime story", saying: "A planned sequel may perhaps provide insight into the gangster at the center of the intriguing world Headley has created.