Weyward
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • USA TODAY BESTSELLER
WINNER OF TWO GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS (Best Debut Novel & Best Historical Fiction)
An Indie Next March 2023 Pick • A LibraryReads March 2023 Pick • An Amazon "Best Books of the Year So Far" 2023 Pick
"A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft." ––Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The London Séance Society
I am a Weyward, and wild inside.
2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great-aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she suspects that her great-aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.
1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. When Altha was a girl, her mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence of witchcraft is laid out against Altha, she knows it will take all her powers to maintain her freedom.
1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.
Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an astonishing debut, and an enthralling novel of female resilience.
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Readers say *Weyward* by Emilia Hart is a beautifully brutal, emotionally intense novel spanning 1619, 1942, and 2019. They praise its rich historical...
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I originally picked this book up because it’s set in Cumbria, in the UK where my husband was born. I’m always looking for ways to learn about where he comes from. But what I wasn’t expecting was for this book so good. It’s very dark (abuse, rape, incest) so be forewarned. It’s a historical fiction about three women’s life stories and describes the dark situations they each have found themselves in. It was written beautifully and made me smile at the long-awaited justice these women deserved. I haven’t quite read anything like this before… I would highly recommend giving it go.
This was a very satisfying read - I do enjoy a good book with well-developed characters, strong narrations and lives that are intertwined by blood, circumstances, unexpected events or all three!
Hart does a wonderful job weaving together this story that centres on three female protagonists in three different time settings - pre 20th century, 20th century and 21st century - who all share a particular ancestry, fortitude and resolve.
For me, this was a story of resilience, female spirit and the courage to live boldly and authentically and I truly appreciated the characters' connections to the natural world that brought a sense of awe and wonder to an already good story.
You will become attached to these ladies' tales of hope and sorrow and there is just enough magic and ascendancy to spark joy and tears in us readers.
This was an enjoyable read. I may have enjoyed even more reading it compared to listening but it felt rhythmic in its delivery. I enjoyed working out the different timelines and felt immense satisfaction at the end with how each timeline resolved itself. There seemed to be an underlying theme of breaking cycles with abusive men and coming into who you always knew you were to be.
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