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No Fair Maidens
- Author
- Kim Willis
- Narrator
- Kim Willis
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 11 June 2026
- Run Time
- 8 hours 32 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Through the threads of folklore, mythology, history and landscape, No Fair Maidens identifies a better way of being for modern women, and crafts a new vision for Britain where women are - and always were - a force of nature.
As Kim Willis drifts from the traditional path of marriage and motherhood, she yearns for a new set of stories to light her way. Here, she is pulled towards the source of the Severn, hearing whispers of ancient matriarchs: shape-shifting enchantresses, scaly nymphs and goddesses who once commanded our lands.
These are no fair maidens, but powerful warrioresses and animalistic beasts, snaking along the edges of watery places where we meet the otherworld in the shadows.
As she uncovers the ancient myths hidden in the rugged landscapes of the British Isles, the stories of women like Arianrhod, Melusine and Cerridwen awaken a forgotten power.
Journeying from the Severn to Skye, Eryri to Northumberland, Kim discovers new magic in the tales of old, unveiling forgotten truths about grief and healing, while charting a new course through sisterhood and sexuality, fertility and freedom.
'This book is an act of excavation, and an act of remembering.'
'I loved this book. Memoir, myth and magic wrapped up together.' Emily Hauser
'Kim Willis is an expert storyteller' Emma Gannon
© Kim Willis 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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This is a really important book, pulling on a half-forgotten golden thread of mythology from which we can draw inspiration and strength. Both experiential and scholarly research underpin Kim’s quest, and she makes herself open and vulnerable in a way which asks for a great deal of courage. Read this book – it might change your life! Brave, bold, authentic and true.
Fiona Collins, storyteller and author of Folk Tales for Bold Girls
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In her empowering and moving memoir, Kim Willis asks important questions about the relevance of ancient myths to the complexities of contemporary life. Along the way, she introduces a cast of goddesses and female warriors who once roamed the British Isles and whose stories – until now – have long been buried. I found it utterly compelling.
Jennifer Higgie, author of The Other Side
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Evocative, emotional and essential for any woman journeying on her path and seeking a sense of belonging. A triumph!
Jasmine Elmer, author of Goddess with a Thousand Faces
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This a book I will return to again and again. How do we not all know these stories of powerful women? I want to study them till they are in my bones. I loved the blend of a modern single woman figuring things out through these ancient stories. I was inspired by Kim’s determination to follow her own path - it makes me feel much less weird for always going off on different winding roads. This book will inspire a lot of women to live life true to them. A movement begins!
Marianne Power, author of Help Me!
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I loved journeying with these ancient, empowering, otherworldly women. Kim Willis is an expert storyteller, reminding us of the deep power and intuition within us all.
Emma Gannon, bestselling author of Table for One and A Creative Compass
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I loved this book. Memoir, myth and magic wrapped up together in a sweep that is as intoxicating as it is revelatory. This is a book that is simultaneously enraging, tragic and empowering in its excavation of the stories of women that have been lost – and which Willis so deftly seeks and recentres. How can one book utterly change my sense of relationship to the British landscape, and to its women, and to myself? Because Kim Willis shows beautifully, brilliantly, that these are the same story. That tales trammel the paths on which we tread, and that there is nothing more important than finding the ones that lead us where we want to go.
Emily Hauser, bestselling author of Mythica
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No Fair Maidens is a landmark publication in British feminist history. The writing is luminous: reflective and personal, funny and dead serious, and often very beautiful. Reading it feels like spending time with a thoughtful and passionate woman whose reflections open unexpected ways of seeing. Significantly, it reveals chapters in women’s history too long obscured. A book that reminds us that we have always radiantly been here.
Minna Salami, author of Sensuous Knowledge and Can Feminism Be African?
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Kim Willis
- Narrator
- Kim Willis
- Duration
- 8 hours 32 minutes
- Release Date
- 11 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529988062
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Memoirs, Folklore studies / Study of myth, Travel writing, Feminism and feminist theory
Synopsis
Through the threads of folklore, mythology, history and landscape, No Fair Maidens identifies a better way of being for modern women, and crafts a new vision for Britain where women are - and always were - a force of nature.As Kim Willis drifts from the traditional path of marriage and motherhood, she yearns for a new set of stories to light her way. Here, she is pulled towards the source of the Severn, hearing whispers of ancient matriarchs: shape-shifting enchantresses, scaly nymphs and goddesses who once commanded our lands.These are no fair maidens, but powerful warrioresses and animalistic beasts, snaking along the edges of watery places where we meet the otherworld in the shadows.As she uncovers the ancient myths hidden in the rugged landscapes of the British Isles, the stories of women like Arianrhod, Melusine and Cerridwen awaken a forgotten power.Journeying from the Severn to Skye, Eryri to Northumberland, Kim discovers new magic in the tales of old, unveiling forgotten truths about grief and healing, while charting a new course through sisterhood and sexuality, fertility and freedom.'This book is an act of excavation, and an act of remembering.''I loved this book. Memoir, myth and magic wrapped up together.' Emily Hauser'Kim Willis is an expert storyteller' Emma Gannon© Kim Willis 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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