The Wood at Midwinter

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What to expect

Experience the magic of The Wood at Midwinter, a captivating Christmas short story written and read by Susanna Clarke, internationally bestselling author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Immerse yourself in this haunting tale, accompanied by exquisite music composed by Rusty Bradshaw.

**Named a book to look out for in 2024 by the Sunday Times, Guardian and BBC**

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

Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scott 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.

'Like Hilary Mantel, Clarke has made the very notion of genre seem quaint' Guardian
'A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling' Madeline Miller

Critics Review

This short story from the Women’s Prize winner (Piranesi) revolves around 19-year-old Merowdis, who can talk to trees and animals, and whose life changes when she steps into the woods one day
i paper, The best new books out in October
Rich in detail and beautiful writing … Confirms Clarke’s brilliance at storytelling, even in miniature form
Observer
Spellbinding
Dua Lipa
Victoria Sawdon provides winsome black and white illustrations to this elegant story, which has the quiet hush of snowy weather but comes with a bite of frosty other- worldliness that is disquietingly shivery
Daily Mail
Beautiful … It’s the original form of fantasy … with very simple elements and very simply told it seems to be talking about something bigger. I thought it was enchanting in the best sense of the word
Alan Moore
A beautifully crafted and haunting tale that has the same enchanting, immersive and transportive storytelling as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. In this novella, Clarke explores themes of magic, nature, and the passage of time, creating a rich atmosphere that is utterly beguiling … With the same Piranesi whimsy and mystery, this is perfect for a cold winter’s night
Glamour
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
A short fairytale-esque tale that is both poignant and enchanting
Fantasy-Hive
Clarke continues to show her impressive capability to craft a setting in a few sentences … Light in plot, heavy in theme, and sprinkled with magic, The Wood at Midwinter offers a perfect way to ready yourself for the incoming autumn season. Be prepared to cosy up and envelop yourself in the snowy woodland alongside Merowdis and her animal friends
nb Magazine
Praise for Susanna Clarke: 'Clarke creates a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human
Bernardine Evaristo, Women's Prize Chair of Judges 2021
What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being
David Mitchell
For fans of Clarke, this is a must-buy ... The perfect mid-Autumn read
Anything Goes
A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling
Madeline MIller
Like Hilary Mantel, Clarke made the very notion of genre seem quaint
Guardian
One of the greatest and most interesting writers of fantasy in the past hundred years or more
Times Literary Supplement
A treasure, washed up upon a forgotten shore, waiting to be discovered
Erin Morgenstern
Purely joyful reading
Naomi Alderman
Utterly compelling – bewildering, intense, moving, shocking, combining a haunting fantasy with sharp insight
Rowan Williams

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