Your basket is empty.
-
- Books
Suffused with the smoke and grime of Industrial Revolution Britain, Wiles' engrossing debut revolves around a hard-working miner desperate to claim a seam of gold to make a better life for himself and his son.
1870s, the Black Country.
Michael is a miner. But it's no life for a man. Michael exhausts himself working two jobs, to send his son Luke to school, so he won't have to be a miner too.
Down the pit one day, he finds a seam of gold. If he gets it out, he can save his own life, and Luke's. But his workmate has other ideas...
Mercia's Take summons an England in the heat of the industrial revolution, and the lives it took to make it. Gripping, powerful and intense, it is the debut of an astonishing new talent.
Publisher: Swift Press
ISBN: 9781800750692
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Read this novel and marvel at its language, dark and gleaming as obsidian. Daniel Wiles channels the Southern Gothic into the vernacular of the Black Country and unearths from the past a tale of desperation that speaks to our current damnation. A striking debut' - Paul Lynch
'Energy and passion fuels this harsh and beautiful first novel; Daniel Wiles connects us viscerally to the past we have buried the history we choose to ignore' - Hilary Mantel
'Feverishly compulsive... 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' - The Observer
'Unsettling and heart-wrenching, this debut marks Wiles as a formidable talent' - Antonia Senior, The Times
You may also be interested in...
“Feverishly Compulsive”
An outstanding debut novel by a talented writer, mercia’s take is an addictive and exhilarating novel that has you hooked from the first word. With a systematic knowledge of the time period Daniel wiles has produced a... More
“Intense in both the plot and my desire to keep reading!”
With a great sense of both place and atmosphere, Wiles takes you back to 1870's Black Country where you follow coal miner Michael as he unearths a seam of gold in his mine.
Wiles did an amazing job when it came...
More
“Intense”
An atmospheric historical debut full of intense dialogue and immersive - yet spare - descriptions. Smatterings of Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner and Cynan Jones stylistically, complete with all three's... More
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?