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. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.ġ619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But."A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft." ––Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost ApothecaryĢ019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers.
As Europe was ravaged by the Second World War, women were entering the workforce by necessity, and gaining independence, in a way they hadn't previously. The middle of the twentieth century was also an interesting time in terms of gender dynamics. In each of these real-life examples, families of predominantly women-in which females were the main or sole breadwinners- were targeted. Altha's trial is completely fictional, but was inspired by the infamous Pendle witch trials in 1612, and the 1619 trial of Joan, Margaret, and Philippa Flower (which I read about in Tracy Borman's excellent book Witches: James I and the English Witch Hunts).
That's why I started with Altha in 1619-in England, this was just the beginning of the witch-hunt frenzy, which worsened alongside the political situation throughout that century. It was important to me to make the point that male violence and control have continued through the ages, sadly to this day.
I wanted to write a multiple-timeline story for two reasons. Why did you decide to incorporate three timelines, and what was special about these particular moments in history? In Weyward, our heroines Altha, Violet, and Kate live in different time periods: 1619, 1942, and 2019. Interview Emilia Hart discusses her debut novel, Weyward, and the how the timelines she chose were relevant to contemporary events.
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