book reviews

Weyward by Emilia Hart

“Nevertheless, still she persisted” is a line spoken by Mitch McConnell about Elizabeth Warren, whom he was trying to silence during a debate over the nomination of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General. It has come to stand for every woman who has the courage to accomplish whatever she sets out to do, even in the face of stiff opposition. When I read Weyward, by Emilia Hart, it reminded me of that line, for the three women who are central to the novel’s plot and theme, are women who withstood resistance and who persevered, each in the time period in which she lived.

Altha, who lived in the 17 th century, is branded a witch for her use of magic whose source is her knowledge of the natural world which, for the most part, she uses for curative purposes. Her accusers acknowledge that being of the weaker sex, she has been susceptible to the wiles of the devil. Altha’s descendant, Violet, who lives as WWII erupts around the world, knows only that she has an affinity for all things natural: insects, trees, animals, and for this she is labeled “unusual” and “unladylike”. She longs for an education that would allow her to pursue such studies but that is denied her because of her sex. Kate, who lives in today’s world, has suppressed her childhood fascination with nature and has, instead, become a weak woman who is abused by her husband, particularly when she tries in any way to resist him.

How each woman persists in her desire to be her own person and to rise above those who would crush her lies at the center of the novel. Weyward, an older spelling of the word “wayward,” meaning “strong-willed” or “rebellious,” describes all of these women, and the reader cheers for them as they rise above those who try to intimidate them. Review by Linda.