The Mercies
The Bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club Pick
-
-
4.2 • 209 Ratings
-
-
- £5.99
Publisher Description
The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club pick and BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick.
For readers of Circe and The Handmaid’s Tale, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's The Mercies is inspired by real historical events – a story about the strength and courage of women.
‘Dark, dramatic and full of danger’ - Daily Mail
The storm comes in like a finger snap . . .
1617. The sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a vicious storm. A young woman, Maren, watches as the men of the island, out fishing, perish in an instant.
Vardø is now a place of women . . .
Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet has been summoned to bring the women of the island to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In her new home, and in Maren, Ursa encounters something she has never seen before: independent women. But where Ursa finds happiness, even love, Absalom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs . . .
A story about how suspicion can twist its way through a community, about a love that could prove as dangerous as it is powerful.
‘Gripping’ - Madeline Miller, author of Circe
‘Took my breath away’ - Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring
‘A beautifully intimate story of friendship, love and hope’ - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain
‘Something rare and beautiful’ - Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel
‘Chilling and page-turning’ - The Times
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
From the author: “The dream at the start of The Mercies is actually based on a dream I had. I started writing the rest of the story, but was getting really depressed. Because I knew the witch trials were coming. I don’t like reading books that are just bleak. I needed to let some light into it. I’d written about 20,000 words and thought, ‘This needs another voice.’ And that’s when Ursa came in. She is bisexual, but I knew Maren, my other character, was gay. I knew from the way she looked at [other women in the novel]. I’m bisexual and I remember the realisation and recognition that I felt with my first girlfriend where we looked at each other and we were like, ‘Oh. It’s natural. It’s not sordid. It’s so authentic. It’s just there.’ I really wanted that for Ursa and Maren. Even though the characters are made up, their situation definitely is not. And it felt incredibly important to be respectful of the actual circumstances that these women would have survived because it was a really brutal and inhospitable place to be. I went to Vardø [the remote Norwegian island where The Mercies is set]. I’ve never been in that sort of cold—even in summer. When I went back in January, in winter, I got really angry. Because that was when they ducked the women [during the witching trials around which the novel is set]. They would have had to break the ice to do it. And even now, just thinking about that makes me sick. It really brought it home.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This dark, dramatic historical from Hargrave (The Girl of Ink & Stars) begins on Christmas Eve 1617 when 40 men from Norway's remote island settlement of Vard die in a storm at sea, setting in motion events that lead to witch trials and executions. Maren Magnusdatter, age 20, having lost her father, brother, and fianc in the storm, lives quietly in Vard with her mother and sister-in-law Diinna, of the S mi people. That changes with the arrival of noted witch-hunter Commissioner Absalom Cornet, who comes from Scotland with his Norwegian wife, Ursa, to root out nonbelievers. Unused to such meager conditions, Ursa hires Maren to help her with household chores. Their friendship grows, as does Ursa's fear of her husband, an enthusiastic participant in the branding, strangling, and burning of suspected witches. Encouraged by the feudal lord who brought him to Vard , Cornet seeks out nonchurchgoers in a crusade against evil that puts Diinna and other S mis at risk. Eventually, Cornet arrests two local widows, tortures and burns them at the stake, then comes to arrest Maren, while Maren and Ursa turn to each other for affection and support. Hargraves's tale offers a feminist take on a horrific moment in history with its focus on the subjugation of women, superstition in isolated locations, and brutality in the name of religion. This is a potent novel.
Customer Reviews
Not my usual read.
Not a book I would normally find myself reading but very glad I did. I learnt a great deal about the perils trying to survive in such a hostile place, whilst enjoying all the characters very much....
I do hope there is going to be a sequel, I would love to know what happened to Ursa, did Maren find her again? The rest of the Kirke ladies, what becomes of them!! My fingers are crossed.
Really good!
Really good read, a page turner.
Remarkable
Truly a remarkable read.