The Daylight Gate - Softcover

Winterson, Jeanette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802122833 ISBN 13: 9780802122834

Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press, 2014

Synopsis

"Mixing historical detail and dark horror, [Winterson] brilliantly brews a spellbinding take on the 1612 English witch trials."--People

An instant bestseller in the UK, The Daylight Gate is Jeanette Winterson's singular vision of a dark period of complicated morality, sex, and tragic plays for power in a time when politics and religion were closely intertwined. On Good Friday, 1612, deep in the woods of Pendle Hill, a gathering of thirteen is interrupted by the local magistrate. Two of their coven have already been imprisoned for witchcraft and are awaiting trial, but those who remain are vouched for by the wealthy and respected Alice Nutter. Shrouded in mystery and gifted with eternally youthful beauty, Alice is established in Lancashire society and insulated by her fortune. As those accused of witchcraft retreat into darkness, Alice stands alone as a realm-crosser, a conjurer of powers that will either destroy her or set her free.

"Winterson's haunting imagery and narrative immediacy captivate. An engrossing story that's sure to leave you shivering."--Elle

"This book is addictive, a page-turner...Winterson lays on the horror and the supernatural with gleeful abandon."--LA Review of Books

"A daring historical novel...a portal in prose....Any reader who crosses over into this novel will remember vividly where he or she has traveled."--NPR.com

"Delightfully gruesome."--New York Times

About this title

Review

"If you like her other novels, you will adore this. She has done her homework... the beauty of the writing, exemplary in its pared-down simplicity. It’s so seductive that by the middle I was hooked." (Independent)

"Sharp-eyed view of history... Winterson is at her best her when she’s dealing with real horrors." (Observer)

"This is a dazzling book. Winterson is a deft storyteller and a writer of wonderful economy. Even in a book as melodramatic as this, she manages to convey character and setting with so few words that you scarcely notice it has been done... Winterson does all that any Hammer reader would want - and probably too much for some squeamish types - as well as writing a novel of subtlety and depth. It is also, amid the blood, mud and violence, intensely poetic. The imagery of the wild land with its dark towers and possessed creatures - animal and human - underpins a story about love and death and the possibility of unseen worlds. It is one of the very few contemporary novels that I actually wished were longer." (Literary Review)

"This I ought to say, is a book worth reading – utterly compulsive, thick with atmosphere and dread, but sharp intelligence too...Ultimately she combines compelling history and poetic dialogue with suspense...This rather more sophisticated story would make a particularly vivid film." (Telegraph)

"Beautifully written." (Independent on Sunday)

Book Description

A new Hammer novel, and a Top Ten bestseller in hardcover. A tale of magic, superstition, conscience and ruthless murder, by one of the UK's most acclaimed literary writers.

Edition details

• Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0802122833
• ISBN 13: 9780802122834
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240