Fri 21 Aug 26
7pm, tickets £5 including a drink on arrival. Further refreshments and books available to buy
Elderwood Books, The Bookery, Manor Farm Brampton Bryan, Bucknell SY7 0DH
We are excited to welcome author Anne Keer to Elderwood Books for an author talk and signing for her debut novel with Honno Press, The Wildness.
This eco-historical novel follows Hannah Sentence, a young woman increasingly disturbed by her husband Walter’s unyielding desire to transform the land around their estate into an elite Gentleman’s Park. As plans unfold, local people will face eviction, an old way of life lost and an ancient oak tree felled. A symbol of resistance, wildness and a young woman’s love affair with nature, the tree embodies Hannah’s struggle for a way of being and of belonging. Can she save the oak and at what cost to herself and others?
Dr Gemma June Howell, editor of The Wildness, said: “I am so thrilled that we have signed The Wildness; a remarkably unique novel which asks what it takes to resist – and to rewild – in a world shaped by control.”
Blending historical fiction with environmental themes, The Wildness draws parallels between the control of women and the exploitation of nature, asking what it takes to resist, and to rewild, in a world built on control. Despite being set two centuries ago, The Wildness speaks uncannily to the present, echoing contemporary debates around land, power and environmental justice – and asking a quietly disarming question: how much has really changed?
Praise for The Wildness
’Written with catnip and the roots of oak, this is a spellbinding read’ JAY GRIFFITHS
‘The Wildness is wonderful. A slow-burn revelation. Let it wrap its tendrils around you’ JONATHON PORRITT
‘Here you can find the roots and relevance to the multi crises of today, but also, a path out’
NICOLA CHESTER
‘A fascinating and beautifully written novel: a pitch-perfect historical voice and gendered perceptions interwoven with the felt reality of nature’ RUTH PADEL
‘Anne Keer has a gift for exquisite description and quiet passion emanates from her words... An authentic, emotive and utterly enchanting read.’ HAZEL PRIO...
