CONTENT WARNING: DV/IPV, S/A
It’s time for another #spellbooksaturday! I have been on such an audiobook kick this summer— they’re especially great for when I’m working in the studio, and I recently made several batches of soap while listening to…
Weyward by Emilia Hart
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
I am a Weyward, and wild inside.
(source: bookshop.org)
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.
With three distinct perspectives woven throughout time, Weyward occasionally struggles to balance the narratives, though it offers a satisfying conclusion. This recommendation comes, however, with a CONTENT WARNING, as the novel does contain domestic violence / intimate partner violence and sexual assault. While ultimately central to the narratives, as a survivor I found the topics addressed respectfully, acknowledging the realties of women and femmes often dubbed “witch.”
Have you read Weyward? What was your impression? Share in the comments!
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