Kiran Millwood Hargrave - Author
Featured books by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Dance Tree
Inspired by an extraordinary historic phenomena that saw the women of Strasbourg infected with a dancing plague in 1518, Kiran Millwood Hargraves’ The Dance Tree captivates and charms as it lays bare insights into “a mass religious trance instigated by the unique pressures and beliefs of the time”, as the author explains in her afterword. Taking in grief for unborn children, and prejudice against outsiders and same-sex love, it’s a beautifully-written story about individuals seeking safe spaces to be themselves in a hostile, limiting age. Pregnant for the thirteenth time, bee-keeper Lisbet lives outside Strasbourg with her husband and mother-in-law, and the support of her friend Ida. Still grieving for her twelve children who didn’t survive to full-term, Lisbet “loves each lost child though they are not here”, and honours them with the dance tree she’s made in the woods — the tree is adorned with ribbons for each of her losses. Then, against a viscerally-evoked backdrop of searing heat (“the certain descent of Strasbourg into another circle of hell”), Lisbet’s sister-in-law Nethe returns from being exiled to the mountains as punishment for an unknown crime. Under the patriarchal gaze of the Twenty-One who govern the city, a woman driven to a dancing frenzy is joined by dozens more dancers, “loose-haired and wide-eyed”, moaning, radiant and whirling with bloodied feet. The Twenty-One bring in musicians, hoping to “play out the devils”. Two of them board with Lisbet, with Eren the Turkish lute player stirring her in body and soul. As the dance plague intensifies, we learn of women who are punished for loving each other, for their “love as deep and natural as the roots we walk on”. At the same time, Lisbet, Ida and Nethe share secrets and become “bonded tight as roots in earth”, with the dance tree poignantly marking their safe space, anchoring them just as it seems the world is crumbling. By turns fascinating, exhilarating and moving, this beautiful novel dances and whirls to its own distinctive tune, and gives fine voice to characters who will capture readers’ hearts.
The Mercies
Totally, completely, and utterly gorgeous, this is a beautifully written historical relationship tale with real bite. And can I just qualify the word relationship - this is about the relationships with family, community, fear, nature, as well as the more obvious love. A work of fiction inspired by history, the story begins on Christmas Eve in 1617 when a sudden and violent storm takes the lives of forty fishermen, leaving the stunned women folk learning to survive on their remote northerly Norwegian island. Still reeling from the tragedy, their lives turn in the most frightening direction when the King brings in sorcery laws and a commissioner is installed to root out evil. This is Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s debut adult novel, and I feel as though I have been waiting my reading life for it. The prologue hits with a huge sad inevitability. Kiran Millwood Hargrave writes with a sensitive and considerate pen, the descriptions are truly breathtaking. While there are some savage shocks in store, The Mercies is still a warm, thoughtful and touching read. Chosen as a Liz Robinson pick of the month, we also just had to include The Mercies as a LoveReading Star Book too. Visit our 'Women's Words - 60+ works of feminist-minded fiction' to explore our collection of feminist-minded fiction from around the world, and across centuries.
The Island at the End of Everything
Shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards 2017, Costa Children's Book Award Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award In a nutshell: beautifully told story of courage and hope and an unforgettable setting Kiran Millwood Hargrave follows up her award-winning debut The Girl of Ink and Stars with a story set in the real world, though one still filled with a sense of wonder and the extraordinary. Set in the Philippines at the beginning of the last century it tells the story of a girl forcibly removed from her mother, as many were, because her mother has leprosy, or as those with the disease preferred, is touched. With the help of her friends Ami makes her way back to her mother and it’s a story of love, courage and hope, all of these symbolised by the butterflies that fill the pages and that are so important to the story. It’s passionately told, full of memorable scenes and characters, and the writing is beautiful. ~ Andrea Reece The Costa Judges say: ‘Entirely original with not a word out of place – as vivid and beautiful as the butterflies themselves.’ A message from the author: ‘At a time when the world seems to be moving deeper towards intolerance, the message that we should be together but not the same, was at the forefront of my mind when writing this book. It’s easy to label people, and labelling means reducing them to one attribute, which in turn makes it easier to dismiss, dehumanise, and persecute. In The Island at the End of Everything, it is down to Ami, and her friend Mari, to find a way home in a society that tells them they are only children, only girls, and so are not in control of their own lives. But of course, this is far from the truth.’
The Deathless Girls
Gothic, intoxicating, feminist, darkly provoking and deeply romantic - this is the breathtakingly imagined untold story of the brides of Dracula, by bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave in her much-anticipated YA debut. 'A Chilling and breathlessly paced thriller... Feminism, spirituality, legend and desire are beautifully interwoven in this mesmerising tale of independence and resistance' - The Daily Mail They say the thirst of blood is like a madness - they must sate it. Even with their own kin. On the eve of her divining, the day she'll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community. Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn't understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts. They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate... 'A feminist origin story of sisterhood, fate and survival certain to bewitch teenage readers and beyond' - Observer
Other books by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Girl of Ink & Stars (illustrated edition)
A stunning illustrated edition of the magical bestseller - a perfect gift for Christmas Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner of the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize Beautiful, thrilling and magical, Sunday Times bestselling-author Kiran Millwood Hargrave's critically-acclaimed first novel is a modern classic. 'Absolutely loved it from start to finish' TOM FLETCHER 'I read it, I loved it' MALORIE BLACKMAN 'Kiran Millwood Hargrave creates a spellbinding world of magic, myth and adventure' EMMA CARROLL Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella dreams of the faraway lands her cartographer father once mapped. When her friend disappears, she volunteers to guide the search. The world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland - and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself. A beautifully written, multi award-winning story of friendship, discovery, myths and magic for any age - perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Frances Hardinge or Katherine Rundell A perfect gift for Christmas, illustrated in colour by Olia Muza, and featuring a bonus chapter From the author of Julia and the Shark and The Mercies, chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club Set in an extensive and stunningly-imagined parallel world imbued with magical realism 'One of those timeless stories that feels like a real myth' SAMANTHA SHANNON 'FANTASTIC!' CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER 'Absolutely stunning' CATHERINE DOYLE 'So beautiful and magical' PIERS TORDAY
Leila and the Blue Fox
Come with an Arctic fox on a breathtaking journey ... an enthralling story from the bestselling, award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark. With dazzling blue and black illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback with tracing paper inserts, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of The Last Bear and A Wolf Called Wander. She was very tired. She lay down, her soft head on her soft paws. The sunset licked her face. The snow covered her like a blanket. Fox wakes, and begins to walk. She crosses ice and snow, over mountains and across frozen oceans, encountering bears and birds beneath the endless daylight of an Arctic summer, navigating a world that is vast, wild and wondrous. Meanwhile, Leila embarks on a journey of her own - finding her way to the mother who left her. On a breathtaking journey across the sea, Leila rediscovers herself and the mother she thought she'd lost, with help from a determined little fox. Based on the true story of an Arctic fox who walked from Norway to Canada in seventy-six days, a distance of two thousand miles, this compelling, emotional and beautifully illustrated story is the perfect gift for 9+ readers. Praise for Julia and the Shark: 'A tale of courage, understanding and compassion' The Observer 'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer 'A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!' Jacqueline Wilson
Julia and the Shark
A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter and the great Greenland shark. Wrapped up in mesmerising illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback, this is a perfect gift for the holiday season, for 9+ fans of Philip Pullman, Sally Gardner and Frances Hardinge. The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky... Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope... A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love - with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.
La chica de tinta y estrellas
Un maravilloso viaje a un mundo de fantasia, magia y grandes aventuras La joven Isabella suena con escapar a las tierras lejanas que su padre, un celebre cartografo, dibujo en mapas, pero no puede porque el Gobernador Adori oprime a todos los habitantes de la isla de Joya. Cuando su mejor amiga desaparece, se presenta como voluntaria para participar en la busqueda. El mundo que queda mas alla de su pueblo es una tierra baldia habitada por monstruos, y bajo los rios secos y las montanas humeantes, un demonio de fuego vuelve a despertar. Isabella seguira su mapa, su corazon y una antigua leyenda para dar con su amiga y, pronto, descubrira el verdadero fin de su viaje: salvar a toda la isla de un horrible destino. "e;Kiran Millwood Hargrave me recuerda a la mejor narrativa de fantasa clsica, como Philip Pullman. Es un libro que la gente seguir leyendo a lo largo de muchos aos."e;James Daunt, librero de Daunt Books y director de Waterstones"e;Una novela mgica con una hermosa y fascinante historia de mapas, mitos y amistad. Una lectura deliciosa."e;The Guardian"e;Hargrave posee el envidiable don de contar aventuras con un estilo narrativo lrico y cautivador."e;The BooksellerGanadora del premio Waterstones Children's PrizeGanadora del premio British Book of the Year de Literatura Juvenil
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