Dark Earth

(Hardback)

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Superb radically new and beautiful Observer

Magical and evocative Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

Heartachingly poignant Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong
An ancient tapestry of legend brilliantly rewoven Francis Spufford, author of Light Perpetual

The new novel from the Costa-Award winning author of In The Days of Rain.

AD 500. An island in the Thames.

Isla has a secret: she has learned her fathers sophisticated sword-making skills at a time when even entering a forge is forbidden to women. Her sister, Blue, has a secret, too: at low tide on the night of each new moon, she visits the bones of the mud woman, drowned by the elders of her tribe who wanted to make a lesson of someone who wouldnt hold her tongue. When the local Seax overlord discovers Isla's secret there is nowhere for the sisters to hide, except across the water to the walled ghost city, Londinium. Here Blue and Isla find sanctuary in an underworld community of squatters, emigrants, travellers and looters, led by the mysterious Crowther, living in an abandoned brothel and bathhouse. But trouble pursues them even into the haunted city.

Dark Earth takes us back to the very founding of Britain to explore the experience of women trying to find kin in a world ruled by blood ties, feuds and men in quest of a nation.

Unique and extraordinary It is difficult to imagine any reader not becoming bewitched by Dark Earth Irish Times

Thrilling Alice Albinia, author of Cwen

Pulses with the energy of a brave new world, a world as beautiful as it is dangerous, where a belief in myth and magic can save your life Katherine J. Chen, author of Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc

Reviews

Superb This is a book that seeks to do for British myth what Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller have done so brilliantly for classical literature: uncovering stories of feminine power that have been occluded by the male hand of history Observer

Gripping puts a female perspective right at the centre of a time period usually dominated by mens stories Independent

Female defiance blazes through as Stotts women reclaim this brutal periodthis novel will make you appreciative of the revelatory historical treasures beneath our feet Telegraph

An eloquent and heartachingly poignant story of sisterhood Evocative and richly mythic, Dark Earth pays homage to the quiet triumph of women working together to build a better world. A truly beautiful book Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong

A thrilling exploration of human kindness, ingenuity and cruelty, told through a tale of ancient London at one of its iconic points of destruction and rebirth Alice Albinia, author of Cwen

Magical and evocative Dark Earth delights, transports, chills and charms Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

An ancient tapestry of legend brilliantly rewoven: hope, courage, mens violence and womens magic in an age of ruins and new beginnings Francis Spufford, author of Light Perpetual

Skilfully imagines a past world in which women must use everything they have kinship, secrets, spells and above all the power of stories to survive the blood feuds and land grabs of national-building tyrants Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory

This novel pulses with the energy of a brave new world, a world as beautiful as it is dangerous, where a belief in myth and magic can save your life Katherine J. Chen, author of Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc

Author Bio

Rebecca Stott is a novelist and historian. She is Professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at UEA. She lives in Norwich.