The Crewel Wing

by Erica-Lynn Huberty

The Crewel Wing is the sweeping Gothic drama of a freethinking, self-reliant woman caught between Victorian constraints, ancient superstitions, and the deep bonds of family... After tragedy befalls her family, Claire Bietris is now married to schoolmaster James Ableton. They live in the perfect country village where James has always enjoyed peace, even as an outsider. But when a body is found brutalized and half-buried in an ancient long barrow, Claire's new life, and James' own hard-won acceptance, is threatened by dark forces real, imagined, and possibly conjured. A mysterious illness plagues Claire and prescient voices haunt her as she must face the shadowed secrets of her past. With an unsettling dose of magical realism imbued with historic atmosphere, Claire's journey is one of peril, heartache and redemption.

PRAISE FOR THE CREWEL WING
“In The Crewel Wing, Erica-Lynn Huberty mixes a delicious brew of mystery and tender romance, with mesmerizing Victorian atmosphere. Readers seduced by Claire’s story of hidden powers will be equally rewarded by Huberty’s lush, precise prose — rife with whip smart, sly observations on human nature. Like a friend’s cozy cottage on the moors, this book will keep you safe and warm and in good company!”
HEATHER HARPHAM
author of The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After
a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick

“An absorbing and beautifully-written historical mystery with a sprinkling of magic. Claire is a hugely sympathetic, independent-minded hero whose journey we follow with fear and hope.”
ANNA MAZZOLA
author of The Clockwork Girl and The Unseeing

“The Crewel Wing sits solidly between the novels of Anya Seton and Diana Gabaldon, rich in historical detail, compelling and immersively told.”
SUSAN SCARF MERRELL
author of A Novel and A Member of the Family

“Intricate, haunting and darkly magical, The Crewel Wing relates the tale of a talented needleworker and her struggle to escape the consequences of family secrets, the threads of which threaten to tangle and entrap her forever.”
JANE GOODRICH
author of The House at Lobster Cove

Genres: Mystery, History

395 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2025

About the author

Erica-Lynn Huberty is the author of the literary Gothic novel The Crewel Wing (Briar Press 2025), and Dog Boy and Other Harrowing Tales (Rising Star, 2010), which was shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Award for fiction. She also co-edited the Gothic fiction collection These Dark Things (Briar Press, 2024). Born in New York City, she studied with author Ann Hood at New York University, and earned her Masters Degree in writing, literature and fine art at Bennington College. Her work has been anthologized in Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems, Conversations On Sculpture (Oakland Museum of California), The Muse Strikes Back (Story Line Press), and published in Camillia Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. She is also the author of the Millsborough Sisters Gothic Regency romance series, under the name Berri L. Beatty.

Reviews

[Haly Hoards Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0☆
What a let down. The synopsis captured my interest; however, it described only 55% of the overall book. Too much space was taken by the travels and trials of Claire, her sister, Meg and their con-artist father. A lot of it was unnecessary to get the idea.

The meeting of Claire and James goes from their first awkward walk to their wedding. Six months of relationship development is grossly left out. Yet, days and even hours take complete chapters. In all, the story was unbalanced. Where somethings were given ample description too much was left to speculation to provide a sense of flow to the story.

Claire's illness was physical and psychological. There were numerous occasions when I thought Claire was schizophrenic not having mystical experiences. A psychological disorder would have been a more reasonable explanation given the mental health of her parents.

I received a free copy of this novel, and I am voluntarily leaving my impressions. Thank you to the author, publisher and Goodreads for this opportunity.

Based on the books synopsis and what I actually read I can not recommend this book.

Favorite Quote:
"A body is only a house after all, empty but for the soul that lives in it."

[Abby Draper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Crewel Wing was beautifully written and truly felt like a piece from the 1800s. It was a little slow to start, but I could tell that it was building up to some kind of big, surprising ending, and that’s exactly what happened!

This book is very complex and covers everything: family drama, sisterly love, chronic illness, supernatural elements, romance, 1800s societal pressures, and more! I love unreliable narrators even though it’s 3rd person, the book mostly follows Claire’s perspective and her thoughts and motives aren’t usually very clear…

That being said, I did find myself confused at times. It would seem like there wasn’t quite a plot hole, but the tiniest of jumps from one sentence to another and I would have to catch up. Or the book would assume I knew something and I actually didn’t yet. That was the biggest issue that I had. But, I was able to put everything together.

Thank you to Briar Press NY for providing an ARC copy of this book for me.

[Erica-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read…. And written. I hope you’ll join me on this journey through darkness and secrets in the deceptively charming countryside, where things are never what they seem. X

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claire’s life has been far from idyllic. After a family tragedy when she is young forces her to follow her very unpredictable and undependable dad around the country trying to eke out a living. When she falls in love and marries, her troubles escalate after a dead body is found. Her past comes to haunt her as she hears mysterious voices and has a debilitating illness that seems to have no answers. #bookstagram #bookreview #loveyourlibrary #readersgonnaread #pagesandprimrose

[Claire Lyczkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Crewel Wing is one of the most gorgeous books I’ve ever read. The prose is beautifully written and incredibly atmospheric—Huberty’s writing is rich, textured, and vivid, capturing not just Claire’s grief and emotions, but how they mirror the world and settings around her. It’s stunning how the landscapes, the house, and even the changing seasons reflect her inner life. That said, I rank it a little lower on my personal list because some of the content was hard to read. The story is quite bleak most of the time, and while I don’t need all my books to be cheerful—I read about war and other dark subjects—I usually look for characters whose hope or humanity carries them through. At times, Claire felt overwhelmingly emotional and trapped in her despair, which made it hard for me to fully root for her. On a lighter note, it was strange but fun reading a book with a main character who shares my first name. Overall, though, it was the perfect book for the transition from autumn into winter—its golden fall melancholy giving way to gray, cold, and sleet, capturing the exact feeling of that seasonal shift.

[Hilary Hamann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Du Maurier and Atwood before her, Huberty has created a historical novel with Gothic undertones that reflects the dark atmosphere, psychological traps, moral dilemmas, and opaque power structures of the author's own politically and culturally fraught moment. Contemporary readers will relate to the difficult choices Claire faces, the chronic foreboding she endures, and the amorphous terror she must navigate past in order to survive.

True to the Gothic genre, "The Crewel Wing” explores the themes, consequences, and triumphs of female subversion in the face of repression. As such, it is a timely parable for women today as we find ourselves having to battle the rewriting of collected history and the reframing of shared reality by those illiberal, paternalistic forces that would risk all things authentic and sacred rather than cede control or relinquish fleeting personal gain.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I received this ebook as a Goodreads giveaway when I had other books I was reading from my library I did not start this until quite a bit after it came to my Kindle. I am so glad that it was in a space on my Kindle library that it reminded me I needed to see what I thought. It is somewhere in that space of charming, thriller, other worldly that is a bit different than my usual but I started reading while my husband had TV on something I wasn't interested in and Claire's story captured me so that I managed to fit her in as often as I could. Very good story with just enough suspense that I certainly wanted her to find at least a bit of a happiness. I won't reveal anything other than to recommend you take this ride through stages in her life and enjoy it.

[Heather Harpham · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In The Crewel Wing, Erica-Lynn Huberty mixes a delicious brew of propulsive mystery and tender romance, with mesmerizing Victorian atmosphere. Readers seduced by Claire’s story of hidden powers will be equally rewarded by Huberty’s lush, precise prose — rife with whip smart, sly observations on human nature. Like a friend’s cozy cottage on the moors, this book will keep you safe and warm and in good company!”

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

We first meet eleven year old Claire when, after years of struggle, her family has secured their very own home. Soon tragedy strikes and, once again, Claire’s world is turned upside down.

After many more years of hardship, Claire meets and falls in love with James Ableton. She finally begins to feel a sense of safety even though she’s plagued with recurring nightmares and is hearing strange voices. When a body is found in their village, their chance for happiness is put in jeopardy.

The Crewel Wing is beautifully written historical fiction that instantly transports you to the 1800s and has the feel of genuine Victorian literature. I came to care deeply about Claire and her struggles and triumphs and will be thinking about her for a long time to come.

Thank you to Briar Press NY for providing me with a copy of this book.

[Jacqui Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like this book!!! I felt it didn’t flow to go od and was all over the place. I also was ill when reading this book either diverticulitis and maybe I just wasn’t in a good place while reading it.

[Anna Mazzola · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absorbing and beautifully-written historical mystery with a sprinkling of magic. Claire is a hugely sympathetic, independent-minded hero whose journey we follow with fear and hope. I love Erica-Lynn's writing.

[Nancy Mazgajewski · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to Goodreads for giving me the opportunity to read this book that I won as a giveaway.

Unfortunately I did not care for the book at all. There were too many settings and characters to keep track of and I had to stop the pain of this at 47% of my way through this book.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway. My review is my own opinion. This was a confusing, but good read. The characters at times seemed ambiguous as to if they were good or bad. The main mystery of the book revolves around the mother.

[Courtney Pityer]

I won this in a giveaway