Description
Man is cruel but the flowers will take their revenge.
In an ancient land, three heroines must join forces against a dangerous power.
'A masterpiece... an intricate, otherworldly, complex and dramatic novel that held me spellbound.' Barbara Erskine, Sunday Times Bestselling Author
Darkness is falling across the land. All that stands against it are three determined women: slave queen Goewin, the reclusive sorceress Arianrhod, and Blodeuwedd, a woman conjured from flowers. Can they unite against the deadly force who threatens them all?
The sadistic ambition of the magician Gwydion wreaks havoc across the forests, cliffs and fields of the kingdom. With the earth itself at stake, Goewin, Arianrhod and Blodeuwedd must unleash their most uncanny powers to challenge him.
In this vital and visceral novel, Brigid Lowe casts ancient light on desire, sex and our relationship with nature to bring these Celtic heroines to explosive, sensuous, blossoming new life.
'Rich with passion and relevance for our modern world... Stunning! Anya Bergman, author of The Witches of Vardo
'A rich, visceral fever dream' Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong
'I adored everything about The Bloody Branch... this haunting, sensual debut had me holding my breath, firmly under its spell.' Emma van Straaten, author of This Immaculate Body
About the Author
Brigid Lowe grew up in a remote Welsh-speaking community on Ynys Mon, with her younger sister and Irish immigrant parents. She now lives with her children in that part of Scotland known as Yr Hen Ogledd - The Old North - formerly joined with Wales in one Cumbric nation. She studied literature at Bangor, completed a doctorate at Oxford, and went on to teach and research at Sheffield and Cambridge Universities, publishing a book and many essays on the art of fiction. Brigid traces her descent from travellers, circus performers, mill workers and gallowglass warriors. She takes photographs of flowers, forages her food, clambers pinnacles, and swims in ice and caves and bottomless pools.
Reviews
Brigid's book is a masterpiece of poetic reimagining, woven into an intricate, otherworldly, complex and dramatic novel that held me spellbound. -- Barbara Erskine, Sunday Times Bestselling Author
A rich, visceral fever dream unafraid to take you to the darkest corners of myth and magic... always powerful, the story is conveyed in language that branches, metamorphoses, and invites you to follow it into the mists of medieval myth. -- Lucy Holland, author of SISTERSONG
I adored everything about The Bloody Branch. I revelled in the absolutely exquisite prose - pure poetry - and its intensely atmospheric world shimmering with folklore and magic. I reread lines multiple times, shocked at their beauty. Shifting between violence and tenderness, protest and surrender, this haunting, sensual debut had me holding my breath, firmly under its spell. -- Emma van Straaten
A magnificent folkloric retelling rich with passion and relevance for our modern world. Every single page captured me, heart and soul, as I bore witness to female solidarity & strength, mankind's destruction and violence and the endurance and power of nature... Lowe interweaves folklore, history and magic through lush prose and compelling storytelling. Her powers of description are breathtaking.... Stunning! -- Anya Bergman, author of THE WITCHES OF VARDO
An astonishing feat of reimagined myth - lush, wild and evocative. Dripping in beauty and brutality, The Bloody Branch is spellbinding from the first page. * Emily Cooper, author of SEASON OF FEAR *
Book Information
ISBN 9781787305267
Author Brigid Lowe
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Harvill
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 478g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 152mm * 30mm
