The Leviathan: A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and murder from a major new voice in historical fiction

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This is a world in which people believe in witchcraft, the devil, and religious tensions run through every part of society.

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews review – a potent brew of

On 7 December 2019, the academic and essayist Emilie Pine stepped out of her workplace and into the streets of Dublin where a climate crisis protest – one of many around the world – was in full swing. But as he begins to unravels the mystery of what has happened to his family, he uncovers a tale, not of witchcraft, but of something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck many years before.I find the civil war interesting in terms of the landscape of belief that started to transform [society], particularly in Britain.

The Leviathan: A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and The Leviathan: A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and

This powerful debut novel by Rosie Andrews is compelling as it is unique; set apart from other recent explorations witchcraft in the current literary trend, the twists and turns in the plot keep you on your toes throughout. A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and murder, perfect for fans of The Binding, The Essex Serpent and Once Upon a River. I love the past for its own sake, but we’re also living through some of the most chaotic political and social times we might remember, and you can’t help but think about those resonances. There is a richness of language and description within this novel which retains its natural conversation throughout, completely hooking you into Thomas' narrative.Mining gave so much to the country and the world in that period of time; now we’re seeing the lasting effects. At a time when the country was in political turmoil it is easy to see how blaming murder and criminality on women under the umbrella of witchcraft, allowing greater injustice to take place.

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews | Waterstones

In an age where what religion is followed is a meaningful, political as well as spiritual decision, Thomas is a sceptic. One of the reasons for that is because the pages are quite small so I feel like I’m making progress. There were several stories about drowning, and we were thinking, OK… There was this weird stuff going on around trees as well, so that had to stop. I had the first line of Pen, which is two girls kissing on Instagram, in my head, and that was it, she just went from there.The Somali community is a community I have a lot of friends in and that I’ve grown up around, but I have to be careful writing about it because I’m on the outside. We have all the necessary characters - wronged woman, driven hero, maniacal puritan, and misguided girl.

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When I finished this book, my mind kept coming back to the story, and thinking about the ending, thinking about the suffering endured - the story really stuck in my head. I also enjoyed studying Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes and it provided some of the inspiration for the story, so I wanted to allude to that.The Leviathan is a stunningly woven debut novel that is more than just a pretty cover (though it undoubtedly has this too! Suspicions of witchcraft,and a beguiling serving girl all serve to confuse Thomas who considers himself a modern rational man. Narrated with spectacular economy, in a thudding, rhythmic staccato studded with local vernacular, the book deftly folds themes of pride, masculinity and ecological ruin into its central story: the visceral vengeance quest that ensues after a fellow miner makes off with Michael’s life-changing haul of gold.