Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Historical Fiction and Debut Winner

Weyward by Emilia Hart



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.

Loved this book sooo much !

i really liked this book! looking forward to discussing! :)

I have started reading this book and am so far really enjoying it. I have read the beginning parts of the three women's stories. I love the descriptions of the natural world (and the little crow flying along the top of the pages).

Loved this book too!

Overall I found this book okay for me. The storyline is about one families generations of women who are tied together in fear was woven within the storyline to give the story more mystery and understanding of each generations failings and strengths and how their lives were being dictated by men who wish to control and subdue them. What I didn’t like was that each chapter changed with each POV of the three women, Kate in 2019, Altha in 1619 and Violet in 1942. The chapters are short which stopped the momentum of their storyline to switch to another POV. It took some time to get use to this format.

I really liked this story about three women with the special gift of being deeply an magically connected to nature. As you say Cammy, they live in three different time frames and are all in extremely challenging/abusive situations.

I think that this as a story of female empowerment and the importance of the support of other women as well as the healing and help that nature can bring.

Most of the male characters were very unpleasant but I am glad that there were a few kind and supportive ones too.

I loved the descriptions of nature and found the writing in this story to be lyrical and beautiful. | even found a new respect for crows and insects!

I did find the switching between characters a bit tricky like you Cammy and I tended to lose details of the characters in the switches. In the end though, it did not effect my enjoyment of the story.