Weaving together the stories of three women across five centuries, Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.
KATE, 2019
Kate flees London – abandoning everything – for Cumbria and Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt. There, a secret lurks in the bones of the house, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.
VIOLET, 1942
Violet is more interested in collecting insects and climbing trees than in becoming a proper young lady. Until a chain of shocking events changes her life forever.
ALTHA, 1619
Altha is on trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a local man. Known for her uncanny connection with nature and animals, she is a threat that must be eliminated.
But Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…
Weyward is a surprising blend of speculative, historical and fantastical fiction that will have you hooked from the first line. It follows a matriarchal line of Weyward women who have an affinity for the natural world and focuses on three compelling protagonists. Altha is the first, accused of murdering a man using witchcraft. The second is Violet, who we follow from her childhood as she chafes against the expectations of her father. And third is Kate, a woman of our present day who has run from her abusive and manipulative boyfriend after she finds out she is pregnant with his child.
This is Emilia Hart’s debut novel. From the opening chapter, Hart’s prose is confident and lyrical, telling the stories of three generations of women who struggle against the bounds of the patriarchy. Hart cleverly creates parallels and weaves threads across all three stories, meticulously crafting and merging the chapters together to create perfect cohesion throughout. Simultaneously, each of the protagonists’ voices were dimensional and distinct, making it easy to get invested in their individual stories.
At the heart of this novel is female empowerment. Instead of dominating the narrative, the small points of fantasy blend seamlessly into a subtle metaphor of resilience and strength. Altha, Violet and Kate’s stories are at times confronting and heartbreaking, but over the course of the novel they each find a way to build a life for themselves, despite the hold the abusive men in their lives had on them.
Weyward thrums with life; its fierce protagonists taking you on an exhilarating journey across centuries. It’s feminist, gripping and utterly unputdownable!
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