'Breathtaking... dark academia at its most compelling' ERIN KELLY
'A very clever dark campus novel... really packs a punch' DAILY MAIL
'An extraordinary story of female power, rage and oppression' KATIE BISHOP
'Barkworth is excruciatingly good' OBSERVER
These waters became wild centuries before this university was dreamed of. Leysham has always been a dangerous place for women . . .
Serena arrives on campus reeling from the injury that destroyed her champion swimming career. She is lost until she meets Jane, an enigmatic tutor obsessed with the historic witch trials that took place in Leysham's freezing waters.
When several young women are assaulted, the university's shadowy legacy becomes inescapable. Those in power turn a blind eye, but Jane urges Serena and her friends to rise up. As their anger builds into an inferno of female rage, Serena takes matters into her own hands.
Leysham has reawakened something within her, a dark, impossible power. In the waters, she can see what must be done - and the sacrifice it will demand.
From the author of Heatstroke, an intoxicatingly atmospheric new novel about competition, obsession and influence - for readers of The Things We Do to Our Friends, Weyward and Promising Young Woman.
Praise for Hazel Barkworth:
'Stylish and sensual' Kiran Millwood Hargrave
'Utterly immersive' Clare Mackintosh
'A sultry, stifling debut exploring power, consent and womanhood' Cosmopolitan
'Barkworth has a pin-sharp eye for detail . . . it's propulsive, though-provoking and atmospheric' Daily Mail
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781035409532
Number of pages: 368
Weight: 580 g
Dimensions: 242 x 164 x 40 mm
"What is a witch but a woman with power?"
Leysham University is a place with a dark history. A river flows alongside the campus where witch trials were once held, and last year students died after falling...
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I devoured The Drownings in a few days. Thoroughly enjoyed this unique tale which feels timely and original. It had been quite a while since I’d read a campus novel and it gave me all I want from the genre - complex... More
I was absorbed by Hazel Barkworth's thoughtful and atmospheric debut Heatstroke, and The Drownings drew me in equally deeply. Serena is a new student at an ancient British university that is fictional but seems... More
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