Black Wood Women

Name: Black Wood Women
Brand: Harper UK
Availability: InStock
Author: Michael Stewart
ISBN: 9780008596125

Author: Michael Stewart

Narrator: Laoise Sweeney

Unabridged: 13 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HQ

Published: 11/21/2024

Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Occult & Supernatural, Small Town & Rural, Literary Fiction, Nature

Synopsis

We know the truths men have forgotten… ‘Visceral, twisting, propulsive – begs to be devoured’ 'Grim and glorious' 'Will leave you breathless’ 'A vivid, inventive narrative' *** The last wolf in England hunts for prey. Exhausted, hungry and alone, she fears for the litter of pups she carries, and the men who seek to wipe her out. Yorkshire, 1649. Since they fled Ireland, Caragh and her family have hidden their true identities to enable them to start a new life in England. But when Caragh finds her parents brutally murdered by a Protestant determined to rid the area of Catholics, she must flee again. Travelling east, she comes to a forest, where she meets a coven of women who wear their hair loose and refuse to follow men’s rules. Having found acceptance at last, Caragh is unaware that a different kind of persecution stalks the black wood women, and their days in the forest are numbered.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jen on January 05, 2025

4.25⭐️......more

Goodreads review by Fiona on January 11, 2025

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 ar......more

Goodreads review by mrsbookburnee on July 24, 2025

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. Alongsid......more

Goodreads review by Emily on January 23, 2025

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 wer......more

Goodreads review by Katy on December 17, 2024

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 f......more

Quotes

'Grim and glorious' 'A vivid, inventive narrative' 'A really beautiful blend of history and fantasy – delivered in gorgeously lyrical language' ‘A devilishly impassioned danse macabre of a novel that grips the reader by the hand and refuses to let go from the first to the last page’ 'Complex and heartbreaking, a liminal thing that burns with the heat haze of history and fiction meeting… Stewart’s is an utterly compelling read' ' has the lived-in realism of a great and well-researched historical fiction, and distinguishes itself with its playful, inventive, and occasionally gut-wrenching storytelling. Michael Stewart has written something altogether his own with this one.' Praise for the author ‘An astonishing novel’ 'Easily outdoes the original Heathcliff’ 'Beautifully written and thrilling’ 'Visceral and unswerving’