Black Wood Women

by Michael Stewart

We know the truths men have forgotten…Yorkshire. 1649. Caragh has hidden her true name and her Irish identity, and since her family fled Ireland in secret they have been proud to own land of their own in England. But one morning, Caragh’s father tells her that they must leave their beloved home as it is no longer safe for them to stay. That morning, Caragh hears shots fired. When she returns to the cottage, she finds her family murdered by Lemuel Lane, a wealthy Protestant who has taken it upon himself to rid the area of anyone with Catholic sympathies.

Caragh flees east, and comes to a forest, a coven of women, finding acceptance at last, little knowing that persecution stalks them, and their days in the forest are numbered.

Meanwhile, the last wolf in England hunts for prey. She is tired, hungry and alone – missing her pack and her mate, and anxious about the litter of pups she carries.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Audiobook, Witches, Horror

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 upgraded to 4 stars!

Well, this is a hard review to write, I feel quite torn about Black Wood Women even though I was excited about reading it, it wasn’t the story I thought it would be instead it turned into something else, and I’m not 100% sure about it.

This was a book that when I saw it and read the back blurb I instantly wanted to read it, I loved the premise of a handful of women living outside the rules of society trying to save the last wolf of England against the persecution of men, I was completely on board with that!

The opening had me gripped, the first chapter of ‘Meeting’ the Wolf, seeing the world through her eyes was so original and engaging. From then on my heart broke every time a chapter centred around her, each time we stepped into her world, her life was becoming more and more bleak and dangerous by the day. I have to be honest I didn’t like where her particular story led, but I did love the final page which is all about hope for the future and love between humans and wolves, plus a nice stepping stone between this book and what I think will be next.

Then we have Carragh’s story of how she and her parents fled Ireland because of the persecution of Catholics, I was hoping for more with respect to their history and their story, but it fell away once Carragh’s parents were brutally murdered which happened rather quickly. That part of the story felt a little rushed, there wasn’t much feeling or emotion with what happened, Carragh just went about everything as though it was nothing more than buttering a slice of bread, it all felt a little too…..well, it didn’t feel like anything really and the story fell into a steady walk as Carragh literally walked off.

I desperately wanted to get behind Carragh, but with her lack of personality, it took a while to fully form any kind of attachment to her. With the multiple points of view, jumping from one perspective to the next and then back to the wolf and finally landing on Carragh again it felt confusing and you never get a real sense of who Carragh was. We see her go through so much in such a short space of time, she sets out on a hard and dangerous journey and finds herself caught up in webs of all kinds from becoming an orphan and burying her parents to brothels and covens to being accused of being a witch and fleeing for her life once again.

It’s true there were times I was a little confused!

There are a lot of characters, most of which I hated, Carragh slowly grew on me, though at times she is quite a cardboard character and shows very little perception or emotion. I did eventually like her, I admired her strength and determination to keep going forward and I did like Kate; one of the hunter’s wives, she was kind and compassionate towards Carragh and the women who are accused of being witches. As for the men, well every single one of them was awful, and despite a fair few grisly ends which they well and truly deserved I couldn’t find myself feeling anything but anger towards them, their views, their barbarous notions of what should be done and what they have done in the past, their maniacal persecution of the wolf (that part alone made my blood boil!😡) their horrendous views on women and how a “witch” should be treated…..well they all deserved to be boiled with nettles!

Yet rather contradictory I did enjoy the book, there were aspects I really liked such as when we first met the Blackwood Women and their simplistic life of living in the woods, learning to live off what nature provides and the sense of friendship and community. Though Alice (the coven leader) was a tad bonkers and she was far too happy brewing up stews of magic mushrooms for her ‘followers’ to eat, leading to odd psychedelic times in the woods and then things turned quite dark.

This is my first book by Michael Stewart and despite my complex and confused overall feelings regarding Black Wood Women, I will certainly read more from him judging by what happened at the end and the last page I think that there could be more stories to come!

I won’t say too much about the actual story as there would be a lot to go into, and I wouldn’t wish to ruin it for others, you do have to go into this with open eyes and with no expectations. I would recommend Black Wood Women to those who enjoy their darker historical fiction, it’s not a book for the light-hearted and at times it’s brutally hard and quite uncomfortable to read but there is something within the layers of the story which stays with you and makes you want more, for me it is definitely the last chapter that piqued my interest for more.

Overall bleak and authentic to the times, difficult to read but leaves you wanting more!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

[Rosemary Leggett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Stewart is a skilled storyteller. I have loved much of his work. His descriptive prose is beautiful, evocative, sometimes violent, and this book does not disappoint in that respect. The themes of persecution of, and power over people, animals and the environment are compelling and I was totally invested in the initial chapters. So I'm not sure why the story lost me a bit midway, and towards the end felt a bit rushed. Definitely worth the read but not my favourite of his.

[Sarah M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

This is a dark and sometimes grisly read set in Yorkshire in the 1640’s. The amount of historical research that has gone into the book is obvious and I enjoyed the detail and language that made it feel realistic and of the time. I found the prose clunky in the first part of the book but felt it got better as it went on.

My biggest problem with the book, is that having read the blurb, I went in with an expectation of wolves and witches, yet despite being called Black Wood Women, a larger part of the book is given over to male witch/wolf hunters. I felt that the male characters got more air time and were better developed than the female characters.

That said I found the middle section quite compelling and I wanted to read on, I also enjoyed the end.

[Fiona Woolford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow that was a fabulous read.
This was a book club read with my daughter as we both received a signed copy by Michael Stewart for Christmas. I have read two other books by MS and attended a book signing and Q & A evening with him and he never disappoints.
His knowledge of Yorkshire and surrounding areas is well
described in the novel along with amazing research into the historical events of 1949.
The story line in itself is enthralling with different things happening in individual chapters culminating together to making the reader want to read on to the end.
It’s all there…family,love,hatred,religion,greed,death,myths,hunger,
nature,animals, witches and so much more.
The characters were well written about, some downright
Brutal while others caring.
Well done Michael Stewart I loved it.
Would I read this again…. Absolutely
Would I recommend it…..without a shadow of a doubt yes.
A 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about nature, Yorkshire, and the history of Irish migrants in England, Black Wood Women draws on England’s violent past to tell a story of persecution that resonates in and for the present. Witches, wolves, and woods intermingle in a quest to hunt and protect the last wolf in England. Preyed upon by a powerful group of dangerous men and fiercely protected by a resourceful coven of outlaw women, an intense battle commences, one that neither side wants to lose. As always, Michael Stewart’s prose is compelling - as poignant as it is violent, as moving as it is uplifting, but Black Wood Women is grounded in history and it is also an astute commentary on the damage being done to the environment and on the dangers of unchecked money and power. Stewart remains one of our finest modern writers - a storyteller who isn’t afraid to show the cruelty and destruction of violence and its impact on people and the world we live in. I highly recommend.

[mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a emotive book, especially the begining with Caragh and her parents, the author portrayed how the Irish were treated and the toxicity of religions. We follow her journey as she navigates life as an orphan.

She eventually meets her ‘coven’ and safety, but even then safety is short lived. Alongside this storyline, we have that of the Wolf, who also faces danger while raising her young.

I found this book to be captivating and so dark at times, but I wish it was longer so we had more time with the characters. I need to read the authors previous work as I love his writing style.

[Emily Pallett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a real slog for me. It was very slow until the end, but even then it felt way too rushed.

I was expecting it to have a stronger feminist theme and I was hoping the coven would be the start of something new for Caragh, but that didn’t turn out as I expected, and Alice was awful.
If it were really about female witches and their strengths and abilities without male rules and brutality, it would have been a true sisterhood with kindness and devotion, but it wasn’t like that. If anything, it felt like it didn’t portray pagans/witches in a good light at all, which (coming from someone spiritually inclined in that way), was really disappointing. To be honest, I don’t feel like any of the characters were partially like-able, and I didn’t feel any strong feelings for Caragh despite all she had been through.

Hellstrom got the upper hand at the end, which was a shame because of his arrogance and he deserved his comeuppance. Lane didn’t succeed, however we didn’t even get to see his downfall, which Caragh deserved to bask in. I was also expecting Jenny to come out better off, however her ending was pushed in like an afterthought. It made me think, here it is, here are the women showing that they can’t all be burnt for male lies. But no, nothing.

The wolf story felt like a real waste of time because I thought there would at least be something more witchy about her. There was absolutely nothing to that angle. The best thing about that was Caragh finding the pup at the end. Maybe that was intended to show the reader that the men didn’t actually win after all because they both escaped? But it just wasn’t enough, even if that was the case.

The 2 stars are simply for Stewart’s use of wonderful words. There were many words that I could guess what they meant, but were new to me. The story itself was not up to par.

It might sound harsh, but leave stories of women and witches and their difficulties in life to the women writers, because they always do it better 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Wood Women opens with a great sense of place and a promise of a dark tale when a starving wolf is desperate to find its next meal. Immediately, I was gripped and felt sure that this book was going to be perfect for me. Set in history with a slight magical/ witchy twist, the plot seemed ideal for a slightly gothic read in the winter months.

However, as I began to read further, the emotion evoked in the first chapter quickly dwindled when the writing transformed into a lot of telling rather than showing. The action and danger that begins our thirteen year old protagonist's life is rapidly told and lacks any feel of connection. I'm not sure whether this is a spoiler because it happens so early on, but after the young girl and her family flee to England from Ireland, I thought there could have been more space to write about the family, the danger they are were in as Catholics in a Protestant country, and the threats that faced them. Unfortunately, this didn't happen and so when her parents get murdered and the action of this is only around a page long, I didn't experience the heartache I feel I should have. Essentially, the girl watches their deaths, buries them, and goes on the run without any emotional insight to eventually find herself taken in by a group of women practicing magic in the darkest corner of the woods.

Alongside this narrative, is also the perspective from the man who killed her parents and is hell bent on ridding the world of Catholic sympathisers. But, when his son dies by the teeth of a beast, all his efforts go towards capturing the last wolf that roams England. Overall, I understand how all the pieces of the plotline came together at the end but whilst I was expecting this evil man (Lemuel Lane) to be hunting the protagonist, instead he became preoccupied and most of the book resulted in two separate narratives that weren't entirely connected just co-existing.

All this being said, I did enjoy the elements of witchcraft and the purpose of these witches to protect the last wolf. Set in the fenlands, I could imagine the dark and boggy woods perfectly and, atmosphere wise, when writing about the characters in the woods, it did become the story that I signed up to and was excited for. Pacing wise, it felt very odd especially with the change in character perspectives and the main action in the novel seemed rushed, but, overall, it was a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book and the chance to write a review on it!

[beckys_book_blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books set in the 1640s so I was looking forward to reading this. I immediately became immersed in Caragh's story and was willing her to find a place of safety amidst so much danger (particularly for the Irish living in England after the civil war).
I found the chapters involving Alice and her coven of women, who are foraging food and trying to survive together as outlaws in the forest, fascinating. I really wanted to read more about each of these characters and what had led them here.
I also enjoyed the few chapters by the wolf who was desperately trying to stay alive and protect her young. This was such an atmospheric book and the woods really came to life through the writing. It had a very gothic, magical feel to it!
There were some real villains in this book and the horror of witch hunts was vividly portrayed.There was so much political instability at this time too and it was very easy for unjust actions to occur, particularly for the lower classes. This was very different from other historical fiction books I've read in this time period. I wasn't sure at all how the story would end but I found it an enjoyable, immersive read.

[June Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!
The writing is so immersive and skilfull. The research must have been pretty extensive as the detail is incredible, and yet feels very natural, woven into the storytelling. It takes a really good writer to pull this off as often the backdrop to the narrative can feel unconvincing. I've read all of Michael Stewart's books and this, along with Ill Will, are my favourites. I look forward to reading more by this author who is at the top of his game.
Highly recommend this book as it has so many parallels with today's world too. Brutal and beautiful at the same time.

[Sally Boocock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Wood women is a novel based in Yorkshire in 1649. It tells of the life of Caragh who is left to fend for herself after her parents are killed. It's also told from the point of view of the last Wolf In England. It's a story about nature and how we have slowly destroyed it. It's also about the cruelty of
Men to women especially those they think are witches. It's a beautifully written book but is dark intense and sometimes funny. I would highly recommend it.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a story of the last wolf in England. Also about a young Irish girl who escaped with her family after the fall of the crown.
I felt it focused on the girls, & the woman in the woods although talented was too full of rage & vengeance.
It was a bit upsetting but at other times I felt it had been written with the Young Adult in mind as the girl wandered from peril to peril. Enjoyable though bleak.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel on several levels:
- an atmospheric Northern gothic tale
- an exploration of how hatred of the other can lead to ruin and destruction all round
- an elegy for our loss of both the natural world and our intimate knowledge of it
Well told and mostly engrossing, though the elements leading to the denouement seem rushed in towards the end.

[Charlotte reads history · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Wood Women is a story set in 1649 Yorkshire, and follows Irish immigrant Caragh as she struggles to survive after her parents are killed. Running parallel to this, we see a similar struggle to survive through the eyes of the last wolf in England, pregnant with pups.

The book explores several interesting themes, but central to the story was the religious persecution of Catholics and the political upheaval of Oliver Cromwell’s republic, and how the lawlessness of that period could provide opportunities or serious threat depending on your social position.

What I also found was well explored was the impact of an erosion of the human connection to nature and how that was inexorably linked to the patriarchal world view - one that was dismissive but also threatened by women’s knowledge and folklore.

I would have loved to have seen more development of some of the characters. We meet the Black Wood Women but don’t ever understand them properly- especially their leader Annie, to the extent where I felt like it was a missed opportunity for such an enigmatic character.

I really enjoyed the chapters from the she-wolf’s perspective. Stewart has a beautifully poetic way of writing about the sensory experiences of the fens and the forest which really came alive for me - a vivid gothic read for a cold autumn evening.

Thank you to @HQStories and the author for an advanced copy for review.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up to three ✨


A bit hit and miss for ME.
At times all engrossing and I couldn't get enough, at others, the pace felt slow, and I didnt get very far.
Nicely atmospheric for some winter nights,

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Black Wood Women is one of those books that readers will either love or hate. The writing at times is a bit too graphic for my liking. I do think this will also put some people off the book. Unfortunately I was one of those readers.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

[Nathalie Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up (currently, at least, in the spirit of trying to rate things slightly more graciously this year). Perfect for historical fiction lovers, not for me - despite my penchant for reading anything set in Yorkshire. I enjoyed the ending though... And flew through the second half.

[Lucy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the connecting of the stories together within one text, the ending was powerful and a good conclusive ending. I removed a couple of stars because for me it needed more depth in the characters behaviours, personalities and connections.

[Alexandra Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yup. No. Didn’t make it past the child enslavement and rape in the first bit of the book. History is brutal but this was too voyeuristic. There was an erasure of the depth that a child can have as the main character was plunged from one trauma to the next like caricature of a child.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pensive, beautifully written book. It perfectly portrays the brutality of the time through the story of a persecuted girl and of a persecuted wolf. Both trying to stay alive and escape the cruelty of men.

[Amelia Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the writing of this book the story telling was stunning and drew me in. The themes although dark and difficult at times made for an unputdownable read.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 * for me. Enjoyable read with a good historical research at its core.

[Riata · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’re looking to be depressed, 10/10.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF Hard slog, got bored with trying. Having read the reviews with spoilers I think I made the right decision.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. Depressing from start to finish.

[laudrrr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sufriendo por esa loba y sus cachorros durante todo el libro.