Review: Weyward by Emilia Hart

Weyward by Emilia Hart ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A beautiful story of women, their persecution, self-doubts, knowledge and ultimately their power. Weyward tracks the stories of three women living centuries apart but facing strikingly similar prejudices and tribulations. We see the ways women are persecuted through the years in different forms but, unsurprisingly, always at the hands of more powerful men. Alva’s story takes place in 1619 when she is on trial for witchcraft, accused of murdering her childhood friend’s husband. In the aftermath of her mother’s death, she is completely alone in the world, her life shrouded in suspicion and mistrust from the other villagers. Violet navigates the journey into womanhood in a post war England with an oppressive father and a crumbling relationship with her brother. The mystery of her mother’s life and tragic death looms over her, ultimately snapping her familial ties with her father and ancestral home. In the twenty-first century Kate is fleeing an abusive relationship and finds solace in the cottage she inherited from her great aunt, Violet. Yes the same Violet! All three of these women have in some way or another been limited, controlled or stunted by the men in their life. Hart deftly explores the enduring patriarchal power that dominates these women’s lives and the current of misogyny that runs through the centuries.

Hart’s descriptions of nature were particularly vivid, and I really enjoyed how a fascination with the natural world was a trait shared by all the Weyward women. Their attitudes to nature are closely linked to how much they accept their true Weyward nature. Alva has never doubted herself or who she is and is deeply connected to the land around her. Violet has never known anything about her past or who she really is but is magnetically drawn to insects and all living things. This is something her father views as abnormal and alarming, and becomes a key factor in Violet's future trajectory. Kate appears to have a crippling fear of nature which is linked to how much she has been manipulated and moulded into something decidedly un-Weyward by her boyfriend. However, the longer she is at Violet's cottage the more she rebuilds her bonds with nature and heals her relationship with herself. The rhythm of the natural world is something that Hart has clearly tuned into during her crafting of Weyward.

I really enjoyed the idea of legacy in Weyward. Throughout the novel, women’s knowledge is shown to be a means of accessing power and a way of holding on to some level autonomy. I loved seeing secrets and knowledge flitting across the chapters passed down from woman to woman in unexpected ways and connecting them all. Their legacies, and the legacies of women outwith the reaches of the Weyward timeline, continually aid them and offer solace and salvation in times of need. I thought this was such a beautiful sentiment and one I found reflected in my own life too. Often the buried stories and voices of women who history does not remember, live on through the legacies they left to sisters, daughters, nieces, granddaughters and friends. In short, the women who came after them.

I would highly recommend Weyward and in particular, the audiobook as the three distinct voice performers create a real sense of intimacy between yourself and the Weyward women. I really felt a deep connection to all three of them and was wholly satisfied with what can only be described as a delicious ending. I hope you enjoy Weyward as much as I did!

Love, Grace xx