'Barkworth is excruciatingly good' OBSERVER
'An extraordinary story of female power and rage' KATIE BISHOP
'Breathtaking' ERIN KELLY
SOMETIMES YOU MUST CHOOSE TO PLAY WITH FIRE...
On a remote university campus in the north of England, famed for the wild waters that surround it, two cousins arrive for the new term.
Zara wants to be at the centre of everything Leysham has to offer.
Serena, an ex-champion swimmer, struggles to find her place.
When they meet Jane, a beguiling and ambitious postgrad obsessed with historic local witch trials, both are drawn in by her desire to expose Leysham's dark legacy - a centuries-old culture of violence among the privileged elite.
As protests flare across the campus, a simmering rivalry takes hold between the cousins. But when cracks start to appear in Jane's stories, everything spirals out of control...
*
'I can't remember the last time I read a book that described so perfectly the powers held within and used against women's bodies' KATE VAN DER BORGH
A provocative and suspenseful campus novel about obsession, influence and the power of young women - for fans of The Four, 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: 9781035409549
Number of pages: 368
Dimensions: 198 x 129 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...
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
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
Please sign in to write a review
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?