Weyward: A Novel

Emilia Hart

Mar 2023 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Aysha Kala, Helen Keeley, and Nell Barlow

About this audiobook

This is a multicast program.

"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 Apothecary

"Narrators Aysha Kala, Helen Keeley, and Nell Barlow are a magical, moving trio. Their emotional and expressive performance of the parallel narratives ranges from touching and timid to tense and twisting."- Library Journal

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Ratings and reviews

not a fantasy nor a romance, as Google told me, but a damned good book otherwise. the intrigue of the three girls keeps you wanting for more each chapter. TWs in the book: SA (mentions and brief description) Mutilation (Breif mention) and domestic abuse

I listened to Weyward on audio, and the narrators and production are fantastic! We have three timelines. Each main character’s part has a different narrator, and all three perfectly embrace the characters. At its core, this story is about centuries of oppression, suppression, and persecution of women. We see these women taking back their power and control over their lives. The magical element is light and believable, woven into the fabric of the story. My one complaint is that all the male characters are evil. I’m not a fan of the “all men are sociopathic control freaks” trend with feminist novels. For me, it lessens the impact of the women’s stories, and reduces the men to a sort of caricature. *Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook download.*

wonderful book. The 3 narrators made the characters come to life. I couldn't stop listening. Highly recommend.

About the author

EMILIA HART grew up in Australia and studied English Literature at university before training as a lawyer. Weyward is her debut and was Highly Commended by the Caledonia First Novel Prize. Emilia lives in London.