Weyward

Weyward is Emilia Hart's debut novel and it is terrific. This story is told in three alternating points of view. The first viewpoint comes from Altha, a seventeenth century healer who was accused and tried for witchcraft. Violet's viewpoint is next and her story is the main story being told in the book. Kate is the twentieth century Weyward whose story we read about. All three of these women have characteristics in common. They were emotionally abused by men who were supposed to take care of them. Two of them were also sexually abused. This victimhood tendency of the ladies was unfortunately passed down through the generations. However, it was presented instead as them inheriting healing power from their ancestors.

The publisher's summary:  

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 begins to suspect 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. As a girl, Altha’s 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 for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of 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 enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world. 

This was a spectacular story. I know its going to be a contender for my book of the year. Each of the Weyward ladies were beguiling, ensnaring you in to their orbit. I couldn't stop reading about their lives and hated for the book to come to an end. I loved these women. The eras is which they lived, while different, affected what happened to them and how society would or would not allow them to respond to their challenges. This is very much a feminist novel. We see the Weyward women rising above their circumstances and defeating the men who oppressed them. 

There is a touch of magical realism in the story. The Weyward women are nature lovers who feel that birds understand them and can help them with their healing powers. Altha and Violet were close to insects and kept them in their rooms; even talking to them. Both studied insects and found out alot about nature as well as people from how the insects lived. At the end of the book we see them completely covering the home of one of the male abusers. 

I am amazed at the author Emilia Hart's ability to weave such a gripping tale in her debut novel. I have high hopes for her in the future and cannot wait to read her next book. Hart is a lawyer who lives in London. Her writing education came from Curtis Brown Creative’s three month online novel writing course. Doesn't this give all of us newby writers hope for our own success?

I cannot recommend this book more highly. I absolutely loved it. 5 out of 5 stars.