A Lazy Reader's Review of "Weyward" by Emilia Hart

Synopsis

    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 b y 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. Only traces Violate has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the world 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.

Review

    Before I being this review, I think that it's important I give a full list of content warnings. There are several instances in the book where acts of abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault take place. These are not topics I take lightly and I think that if someone has gone through such things should be aware that these topics are in this book.

    This book weaves the stories of three women across three different timelines centuries apart. It was so fun making the connections between the different time periods. I was never confused throughout the various time jumps and I think that author did a good job ensuring that each chapter is connected to each other one way or another.

    Kate begins her journey as a woman frightened of her abusive partner. She is incredibly paranoid and essentially scared of her own shadow. She lives with a lot of guilt over the passing of her father which she believes she is a total fault for. She also believes that the abuse she endures from her boyfriend, Simon, is almost deserved because of what she perceives as her fault. She views herself as a monster. But as she begins to discover the stories of her ancestors, Violent and Altha, she learns how to forgive herself and through that she is able to gain the strength to defend herself against Simon. 

    Violet has to navigate living in a household where she is hated by her father for being very similar to her long deceased mother. She struggles with her relationship with her brother as well as her place in her family. Her life is then turned upside down when her cousin, Frederick, arrives at Orton Hall. Frederick gets her drunk, walks her away from her house into a secluded area in the forest, and rapes her. It was incredibly difficult to read and I will admit I contemplated dnf'ing this book. I try to stay away from stories that involves topics such as rape and intimate partner abuse. It's just not a topic that I prefer to read. But, I continued reading. Why? I don't know. I just felt like I had to. When Violet learns that she is pregnant, her father takes her from Orton Hall and places her in Weyward Cottage where her mother lived before marrying her father. Here she learns that her father used her mother in order to aid him in inheriting Orton Hall from his parents and older brother. She learns that her mother never went mad, rather her father and the local doctor had conducted a hysterectomy on her and she would end up passing away from the procedure. She learn to find her own voice, take control of her future, which involves forcing a miscarriage through the aid of herbs, and stand up to her father.

    Altha is put on trial for the murder of John Milburn as she is accused of witchcraft. Her story centers around the strained relationship between her and her childhood best friend Grace, Milburn's wife. We learn that Altha's mother attempted to save Grace's mother's life when she was suffering from an illness that would eventually kill her and because of this Grace's father forbids the two from seeing each other again. Now grow women, Grace goes to Altha for help in getting rid of a pregnancy. Grace tells Altha that if this baby comes out stillborn, then she fears her husband would kill her as he had already beaten her for the last two stillbirths she had. Grace then offers to take care of John all together, which she does. She does indeed cause the stampede, however while she is on trial, the judges decide that there is not sufficient evidence to convicted her of witchcraft and she is spared from being executed. Her story ends with her becoming pregnant and longing for the day when she and Grace can see each other again.

    I thought that each of the women in this book had compelling stories and satisfying endings. There are themes that cover guilt, grief, loss of innocence, and identity that I think were really well-developed. I also really like that the magic system was more grounded in nature rather than spell books and cauldrons. I feel like it makes more sense for the story and the arcs that each character goes through. For a debut novel, I think that Hart did a really good job and am looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next. 

Oct. 5, 2024 – Oct. 8, 2024

★★★★☆

Favorite Quote: "We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I. For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes. A word that builds gallows and pyres, turns breathing women into corpses." ~ pg. 166