Dark Earth

Rebecca Stott is a novelist, broadcaster, historian and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is Professor Emeritus at UEA. Her books include Darwin’s Ghosts and Darwin and the Barnacle, the novels Ghostwalk (a New York Times bestseller), The Coral Thief, and the Costa Award-winning memoir In the Days of Rain. She lives in Norwich.

‘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 men’s stories’ Independent‘Female defiance blazes through as Stott’s women reclaim this brutal period…this novel will make you appreciative of the revelatory historical treasures beneath our feet’ Telegraph‘An eloquent and heartachingly poignant story of sisterhood that echoes across the centuries. 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‘A magical and evocative book … 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, men’s violence and women’s 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