Weyward: Discover the unique, original and unforgettable fiction debut novel of 2023 – a BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick and #2 Times Bestseller
£2.80
2023’S BIGGEST DEBUT
*The New York Times Bestseller *
*THE TIMES #2 BESTSELLER
*A BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK
*‘A generational tale of female resilience’ GUARDIAN
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‘Humming with a sly, exhilarating magic’ BRIDGET COLLINS
‘A much-heralded epic’ OBSERVER
‘Empowering’ GLAMOUR
Three women, five centuries, one spellbinding story
In the present day, Kate flees a traumatic relationship to the Cumbrian cottage she inherited from her great-aunt; but the cottage hides secrets of its own.
In 1942, Violet rebels against her father’s ideas of a ‘proper young lady’ . . . until he takes matters into his own hands.
In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft, implicated in the gruesome death of a local man.
Three women they tried to cage – but Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…
Weyward was a Times bestseller w/e 18-02-2023.
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Additional information
| Publisher | The Borough Press (2 Feb. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1082 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 381 pages |
by ZN
What an amazing read this was! Wow!
This is a story of strong, unconventional women who discover their power. It’s a simple, easy to read book that is captivating, atmospheric, haunting, suspenseful, and theatrical.
“Witch…a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those that speak it, not those that it describes. A word that builds gallows and pyres, turns breathing women into corpses.”
We follow 3 women, across five centuries. All have a love of the natural world and in return “nature” loves them back.
Altha, in 1619, is accused of being a witch and is on trial. Violet, a teenager in 1942, is trapped by social conventions and a father worried she’ll turn out like her mother. Kate in 2019, is a victim of domestic violence who finally gathers the strength to run.
Each scenario displays a woman plagued and used by men, yet show a strength and resilience to help them to persevere with their lives.
I was hooked by the magic realism woven into each story, which prevented it veering off into fantasy.
The writing was beautiful and so descriptive to paint the scenes in my head. It was easy to picture everything playing out before my eyes.
The three narrators each express their character well.
A fantastic book that is so worth checking out,
by Spicewalker
It’s not often I venture away from the world of crime, but when I do it’s usually for a very good reason. Weyward by Emilia Hart is most definitely a very good reason. I’ll admit, I was first attracted by the cover, and the glowing reviews I’d read certainly encouraged me more. Then there is the subject matter, the links to witchcraft, always a go to subject for me when reading as a child. I used to be fascinated by tales of the unexplained, be they supernatural or otherwise. But to try to pigeon hole Weyward into any specific category like the occult, or fantasy or crime, just wouldn’t really work. I’m not sure that there is a really suitable category for the book as there are certain elements of all the above in the book. But above all else, it is a story of three women, three generations of the same bloodline, and how, despite the broad span of the years, they need to find the strength to survive, and even blossom, in very male dominated worlds.
This is the story of Altha, Violet and Kate, separated by the centuries but connected in ways that certainly the latter generations do not understand. Altha, of all of them, is perhaps the one with the greater understanding of the Weyward women’s gift – the ability to harness the power of nature for good. Altha was brought up by a mother who fully understood the way in which the tides were turning against people with their talents – when you think of witches, think of your Pendle style witch rather than the kind with strange green skin last seen melting in a puddle in Oz (oops – spolier alert). If you were to try to categorise them it would be a bit like Dr Doolittle turned herbalism. They provide alternative treatments to those made and rather macabre methods prescribed by Doctors of their era, and yet hold an uncanny ability to commune with nature. But when we first meet Altha, she is already on trial accused of witchcraft, after the death of a neighbour, the husband of a woman she knew a long time before. Her position is stark, her treatment shocking, and yet it embodies the suspicion and contempt held towards certain women in the early seventeenth century, when superstition was far more prevalent than common sense.
Violet is a young girl who leads a very sheltered life. brought up by her father following her mothers death, Violet has been home schooled, her natural tendencies towards the outside world and nature curbed by her father’s tight control. Everything she loves goes against her father’s wishes, and whilst a voracious reader, there is a certain naivety born of her seclusion that gives the sense that she is heading towards a very start ending. The warning signs are there, and I could feel my anger building as the author led us towards the inevitable conclusion. But as dark as her story becomes, there is a kind of peace that comes with it too, as an undeniable tragedy also becomes her salvation. As for Kate, a far more modern woman, she knows nothing of her ancestral past and has none of the natural affinity towards the outside world. There are reasons for that which become apparent as the story progresses, but caught up in an abusive relationship, all Kate seeks is peace and sanctuary, something she finally finds in the Weyward family home.
In fact, it is an expression of male dominance, misogyny and abuse which unites the three women. Men seek to be the cause of their downfall and yet it is in standing against them that all three find their true power. There are moments in the book that will undoubtedly outrage you, others which will make you smile. All three women are strong, independent and capable, although it takes Kate much longer to realise this in herself. The intertwining of their stories, their distinct and yet recognisable voices, makes this a very easy, and surprisingly quick, book to read. It is not told in linear fashion – the story regularly moves between the three different time periods – and yet it was very easy to follow, and each story completely drew me in. There is a tension which flows through each thread, building to a crescendo at different moments in their story, but keeping the pace of the book just right, so much so I polished it off in two sittings.
I’m not entirely sure what I expected when I started reading this book. I approached it with no small amount of trepidation, it being outside of my comfort zone, but Emilia Hart is such a talented writer that I was completely absorbed from the very first chapter. If you want to read a book about triumph of spirit over adversity, about the strength of women in a world besieged by misogyny, and about harnessing the power of the natural world, then definitely give this one a try. Beautifully emotive and exquisite writing.. I’ll be keeping these ladies spirits with me for some time I think.
by Kevin Crowe
The title of Emilia Hart’s debut novel “Weyward” comes from the First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” (in later editions of the play changed to “weird”) and refers to the three witches. Hart’s novel looks at the lives of three women from different generations, all of whom are faced with and challenge restrictions put on them by men. Altha is a 17th century healer who learned her skills from her mother and who has been charged with witchcraft. We first meet Violet, the second of the trio, in 1942, when she is in effect imprisoned at home by her father who is worried she might turn out like her mother, and is later raped and blamed for the rape. Kate is a 21st century young woman married to a man who subjects her to physical, emotional and sexual abuse and who, when she discovers she is pregnant, takes step to leave him and rebuilds her life at the cottage she inherited from her great aunt Violet. Indeed, as the novel progresses, we discover that all three women are related and all three have traditional knowledge that enables them to live close to nature and obtain help from the natural world. The author’s use of magical realism and her ability to take the reader with her reminds me of the fiction of the late and still missed Angela Carter.
As the three interlocking narratives progress, we discover more about the lives of these three women, the pressures they face and their responses to the misogyny and abuse they experience. With one exception all the men in the story are either abusive or weak or both, the one exception being Violet’s brother, Graham, who during the course of the story moves from being an object of ridicule to the one person who helps Violet.
It soon becomes apparent that all three women learn from the experiences of others. Altha has learned her skills from her mother. Over 300 years later, Violet discovers a journal written by Altha, a journal that helps her move forward and build a meaningful life for herself. The experiences and knowledge of Altha and Violet are central to Kate’s escape from an abusive partner. Each of them learns from the past and leaves elements of that learning for future generations.
It is a remarkable debut that is both thrilling and thought-provoking, combines realistic narratives with the paranormal and emphasises that solidarity and community can transcend generations, even centuries.