by Hannah Kent
First published 2017
Nóra Leahy tends to her deformed grandson Michael in a remote Irish valley in 1825. She has lost both her daughter and husband within the same year, leaving her to care for the boy she keeps hidden from the community. Mary Clifford helps with Michael's care while Nance Roche, an elderly healer, lives alone by the river. Nance treats the villagers' unexplained ailments with herbs and traditional remedies. When a new priest arrives determined to eliminate superstitious practices from the valley, he targets Nance's healing work. The priest questions the purity of her methods and intentions. Strange and tragic events begin to connect these three women's lives in ways that will test their bonds and beliefs. The story draws from an actual infanticide case, exploring how desperation and faith collide in a community where old ways clash with religious authority.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, small-town
Setting: Ireland, Irish Valley
Period: 1825
432 pages · Paperback · Alba
Content warnings: death