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Book Summary and Reviews of The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

The Wood at Midwinter

by Susanna Clarke

  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2024, 64 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the internationally bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

'A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really.'

Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees-and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods.

One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst-and the path of her life is changed forever.

Featuring gorgeous illustrations truly worthy of the magic of this story and an afterword by Susanna Clarke explaining how she came to write it, this is a mesmerizing, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's bookshelf.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"The juxtaposition of thoughtful and sometimes unsettling atmospherics with quirky enjoyment delights. This is an ideal stocking stuffer." —Publishers Weekly

"A made-for-gifting book." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Highly atmospheric, this winter tale is set in a wood and navigates the line between a Grimms' fairy tale and a feminist manifesto...Clarke's many fans will not be disappointed." ―Library Journal

"As beloved fantasy writer Clarke's atmospheric and gently funny fable about the holiness of nature, so gracefully illustrated by Victoria Sawdon, unfurls, Merowdis experiences a transformative encounter." ―Booklist

"Clarke's imagination is prodigious, her pacing is masterly and she knows how to employ dry humor in the service of majesty." ―The New York Times

This information about The Wood at Midwinter was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Susanna Clarke Author Biography

Susanna Clarke's debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was first published in more than 34 countries and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian First Book Award. It won British Book Awards Newcomer of the Year, the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award in 2005. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a collection of short stories, some set in the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, was published by Bloomsbury in 2006. Piranesi was a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year Award, the RSL Encore Award and the Women's Prize for Fiction. Susanna Clarke lives in Derbyshire.

Other books by Susanna Clarke at BookBrowse
  • Piranesi jacket
  • Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell jacket
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