Wayward: Song of the Huntress with Lucy Holland

A captivating folkloric fantasy of treachery, loyalty and lost love: Song of the Huntress is a dark feminist fantasy set amidst the legends and beauty of ancient Britain. 

In an attempt to save her lover, Herla makes a desperate pact and becomes Lord of the Hunt, forced to ride for centuries reaping wandering souls. It isn’t until she meets Queen Æthelburg, bloodied on the battlefield with her husband’s court turned against her, that Herla is moved to regain her humanity and find a way to break the curse. 

Join us in conversation with Lucy Holland about her powerful new novel and the historical influences behind it. 

Lucy Holland is an author, ex-bookseller and co-host of the award-winning feminist podcast Breaking the Glass Slipper, which looks at women in genre fiction. She lives by the sea in Devon with her cat, a piano and a bedroom full of stories just one mile from Romano-British ruins. Find out more about Song of the Huntress & Wayward Book Festival here.

This event will be held at Above the Bookshop, 21 Church Street, TR11 3EG

Song of the Huntress

Two women walk on a knife-edge as war looms in ancient Britain. One is immortal and cursed. The

other is a mortal warrior, doomed to a loveless marriage. But they must work together as dangers

mount, or they'll both be as lost as the realms they call home.

Britain, 60 AD. Hoping to save her lover and her land from the Romans, Herla makes a desperate pact with the Otherworld King.

She becomes Lord of the Hunt and for centuries she rides, reaping wanderers’ souls. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield – a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes. Queen Æthelburg of Wessex is a proven fighter, but after a battlefield defeat she finds her husband’s court turning against her.

Yet King Ine needs Æthel more than ever: the dead kings of Wessex are waking, and Ine must master his bloodline’s ancient magic if they are to survive. When their paths cross, Herla knows it’s no coincidence. Something dark and dangerous is at work in the Wessex court.

As she and Æthel grow closer, Herla must find her humanity – and a way to break the curse – before it’s too late.

Tickets: £8 

All tickets have an additional £1 Poly Fund added at checkout.

Check times : Book now