Book of The Month discussion

"I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world."

Hey guys! I hope it's ok that I started this one. I am 100 pages into Weyward and noticed that we didn't have a discussion thread on it yet.

Yes, it's perfect!!

Chapters 1-10

(view spoiler)[

Kate is a character that I can sadly relate to. I have never been quite in her position but I have been in relationships in which I knew they were unhealthy and I was embarrassed that I was even entertaining it. I can see how it would have been easy to fall for Simon's charm and feel trapped once the abuse started. And the way he manipulates her and uses her love for him against her to keep her trapped is especially atrocious. I'm a little worried that Simon will somehow find her at Weyward. I also feel so bad for her that she feels like her father's death is her fault. She was a little girl and obviously, he chose to die so that she could live, because he loved her so much. Which I am sure even thinking about it like that is painful for her. I hope that we see Kate heal and gain back her confidence in herself.

Violet is probably my favorite character so far. She's such a free spirit and I definitely can relate to her. I was similar as a little girl, always wanting to be outside. I was not quite as fond of insects as Violet but I was always picking up strays and hurt animals and nursing them back to health. I worry that her little spirit is going to be crushed but then we see snippets of her adult life through the way Kate described her Great Aunt Violet. I think I am loving those parts of this novel the most.

Altha breaks my heart, plain and simple. She is a woman who is too educated, too compassionate, and too ready to put herself on the line to help others in a time when women are in danger just for existing. Her mother was the same way, trying to save people from a doctor who was convinced he was right and they were women. We've just learned why she is accused of being a witch and her childhood friend's husband being trampled by his cows was not even on my 'why they burned women' bingo card so that's a new one for me, but sadly I am not surprised by anything (when it comes to being accused of witchcraft in the 17th century).

(hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "Yes, it's perfect!!"

Oh good, ty!!

So, has anyone read this one yet? I am really enjoying it so far. I really like the way this author writes her characters. I was intrigued and invested in all three of the women right off the bat!

Yes! I previously read this back in 2022, as an ARC

I buddy read it in another group so I have my notes/comments!

13 chapters / 25%

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about these separate POV but it's not too bad
(view spoiler)[ Oh no, Kate. What a horrible marriage. And she is the farthest from her. . .ugh, powers? tie to nature? whatever it is, she has really blocked out how good the earth and nature can be for her. I hope she finds it as she ventures through pregnancy

Ugh poor Violet. I don't think she's going to have a good time getting married. Is her father setting her up with a cousin? it sure looks like it. I wonder if he'll let her be outdoors and have her own mind. . .

and Altha. . .will this be one of the first witch trials? although I wonder if it will be dauther, mother or both?

and how does this all tie? their lineage to the land? the house? their powers? (hide spoiler)]

25 chapters / 52%

(view spoiler)[ oh man, I hope Kate ends up being perched high with a crow on her shoulder taking her ahole husband down!! lol

these men make me so mad

if Kate is from Graham, does that mean the sister didn't have kids? or a daughter? I really dislike this cousin

and Altha's trial is just frustrating. I hope she gets away, otherwise how does the family continue?! EEE, I hope she gets away with the help of her friend!! (hide spoiler)]

36 chapters / 75%

(view spoiler)[ the accident and the baby - I hope Kate is okay. I'm sure Simon will be there or there shortly after. I hope she clocks him good and then attacks him with a plague of instects!! lol

Altha's story - tied so horrible with Grace - there is no way this will go well. I wonder if she will have to flee to stay safe. . .

and poor Violet. her story is just getting worse. I hope it gets better now and she find strenth in the hut and that Graham takes her baby (hide spoiler)]

and I'm done!

(view spoiler)[ I'm so glad that Violet got to know that Kate needed help but also that Kate was the legacy
so glad Kate got to fight back

I really liked how all the stories told the same story only different from a different time.
this was a good one (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 11-19 (end of Part 1)

(view spoiler)[

Kate
Kate seems to think her mother is unsafe around her because of what happened with her father. At first, I thought maybe Kate's mother subconsciously blamed her too and this affected their relationship but after their phone call, I wonder if these feelings are totally on Kate's side. Her mother seems to almost be desperate for a closer relationship with her daughter. We only got the one phone call but she doesn't seem to hold any ill will towards her daughter. I love Kate’s chapters where she is discovering things about her family and especially her Great Aunt Violet. I really like the part where it talks about Violet’s career and travels. It makes me happy to know that the character that I can relate to so well got to travel which was a dream she mentioned in her own chapters.

Violet
This story about how Violet's father acquired his elephant tusk feels like something Simon would do too. Do these women somehow choose men who are similar as well? Abusive and cruel seem to describe both pretty well. With this, I am worried about Violet's interest in Frederick. He had a moment where he lashed out at her and seems to have a mean streak as well as the way he talked about killing humans in war. It feels like he is a man like her father and like her great-niece's husband. He alarmingly, is also older than her, I know for the time this was probably considered ok but I think even then that women who were married off as young girls to old men had to have been affected both physically and mentally. I think the part where Frederick tells Violet about her mother is quite telling. I think the fact that Elizabeth didn’t like Frederick shows that she knew he was a bad person, a cruel person when he was a child.

Altha
Altha’s chapters really anger me almost. It was so easy for a woman to be accused and for men to use baseless accusations and flowery language to convince people that she was a ‘witch’. The fact that she had to rip off a mole because it was considered a ‘witches mark’. It's so ludicrous but still frighteningly familiar in current times.

(hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "Yes! I previously read this back in 2022, as an ARC

I buddy read it in another group so I have my notes/comments!"

Yay! I figured someone had to have read it and that's why I was a little surprised it wasn't already a topic. I half expected you guys to point me to the page I just couldn't find lol

Trisha wrote: "13 chapters / 25%

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about these separate POV but it's not too bad
Oh no, Kate. What a horrible marriage. And she is the farthest from her. . .ugh, powers? tie to nature? ..."

I love a good alternating POV. Especially when it's different time periods like this.

(view spoiler)[

I agree with hoping Kate gets back in tune with her powers(?)/love of nature. I also am a little worried Simon will find her somehow and I hope that her and the baby are able to stay away from that man.

I am still not sure if Violet's father is trying to facilitate a marriage or if it's more Frederick's doing. At first, I thought he was but then he seemed surprised when Violet was interacting with Frederick, but that could have been surprise at Violet's behavior not the situation as a whole.

Altha's chapters are making me so sad. The danger of being a woman who doesn't bow down to the patriarchy has always been great and I cannot believe we are still dealing with this BS in 2024 (albeit on a different level of course but still, we should be past misogyny IMO).

(hide spoiler)]

So, I just finished this and it's going straight on my list of favorite novels. I love the three women we follow and would devour more about the Weyward women.

(view spoiler)[

Altha is such a layered character. She is smart, capable, and strong but we still see where she is human and has her own weaknesses. Her forethought to capture her story on the page will continue to bolster the strength of the women who come after her. She's the ancestor that all women wish to have had or to have knowledge of. She is unfortunate to have lived at the wrong time, a time when women were accused of witchcraft for the crime of being unmarried and uninterested in marriage. While this is a fictional novel the danger for women in the 17th century was all too real. I wish I could say we've gotten past that but we are still fighting demonization for thinking we deserve equality in 2024.

Violet is probably my favorite Weyward woman that we get to read about here. She is stubborn and opinionated in a way only a privileged woman could be. Her father being a Viscount was not always so beneficial for her, however. She was never allowed to leave her home and so lived like she was in Victorian England rather than 1940s England. Her father was able to keep her isolated and under his thumb because of the grounds and his staff. Violet is tenacious enough to still yearn for freedom and dream of a day when she could be an entomologist. I was so worried about Violet once Frederick came to visit and I ended up being correct in my worry. I hate that she experienced so much violence and abuse, but sadly I am not surprised. When she was waiting for her cousin to return and marry her I was even more worried because Frederick was reminding me of her father and of Kate's Simon. I think the way Violet took control of her situation was empowering for her. I think the combination of that and Graham's support was what got her through the struggles in the remainder of her life. Graham was also so wonderful at the end. When I read that they had been 'disowned' at the beginning of the novel I worried the entire time about how that would happen. I like that the author made Graham choose to leave with his sister instead of being thrown out by his father. That whole scene made me want to go hug my baby brother.

Kate is sadly someone I can relate to. I have never been in a physically abusive relationship but I understand what it's like to feel trapped in an emotionally and verbally abusive relationship. Your own self-worth and self-esteem start to falter and you end up feeling like you can't leave for some reason or another. Sometimes you actually can't because of reasons, like health reasons or financial reasons. The shame Kate feels at finding herself in a relationship like that is all too real for me. I was so worried the entire time that Simon would find her and when he does I am grateful that it's after she's gotten herself back, not completely but enough to fight back. I wish Violet had been able to know Kate. I don't think that Kate would have found herself in that relationship if she had.

I love the story of these three women. They are all humans so fallible and imperfect, but they are strong-willed and not easily beaten down. Their connection with nature is really interesting too and while it was a main theme of the novel I wish we had more about where it came from or what it was exactly. I would devour another novel about Weyward women, especially if it covered multiple other generations like pre-Altha, or post-Kate, and I want more of Violet’s travels and the middle of her life!

(hide spoiler)]