In the Blood
Published on 2. August 2024
Book
Hardback
978-0-907633-90-7 (ISBN)
Description
North Wales, 1945.
Twelve-year-old Jackie is an evacuee, Iolo, her host, is touched by Gwyn ap
Nudd, the Welsh god of the chase, and from him Jackie learns hunting's ancient
secret lore. She knows every hound in his pack, every stream and covert in
their valley, and by sleeping in their kennels, understands their dreams. By
the war's end she sees herself as more hound than girl.
When her mother
comes to reclaim her, Jackie is transplanted to a derelict estate in
Westmorland. Its owner, Major Wetheral, is the local Master of Foxhouds. But his
English way of hunting flouts the Welsh god's lore, courting disaster for him and
the Wetheral line. His troubled fourteen-year-old, Oliver, is fiercely opposed
to blood sports, and as the bond between Jackie and Oliver deepens the hunt
presents new and frightening challenges for them both.
Can Jackie,
through her knowledge of the god, avert the doom that haunts the Wetherals? Or
will she be trapped in the fate of an English house and its master?
Twelve-year-old Jackie is an evacuee, Iolo, her host, is touched by Gwyn ap
Nudd, the Welsh god of the chase, and from him Jackie learns hunting's ancient
secret lore. She knows every hound in his pack, every stream and covert in
their valley, and by sleeping in their kennels, understands their dreams. By
the war's end she sees herself as more hound than girl.
When her mother
comes to reclaim her, Jackie is transplanted to a derelict estate in
Westmorland. Its owner, Major Wetheral, is the local Master of Foxhouds. But his
English way of hunting flouts the Welsh god's lore, courting disaster for him and
the Wetheral line. His troubled fourteen-year-old, Oliver, is fiercely opposed
to blood sports, and as the bond between Jackie and Oliver deepens the hunt
presents new and frightening challenges for them both.
Can Jackie,
through her knowledge of the god, avert the doom that haunts the Wetherals? Or
will she be trapped in the fate of an English house and its master?
Reviews / Votes
'Truly one of themost compelling novels I've read in years, In the Blood gripped me from
the start and refused to let go. Jenny Newman's evocation of time and place is
sublime, as she conjures the aftermath of the second world war in the scraggy
coat-tails or rural north Wales and Cumbria. Through the watchful eyes of our young
narrator, Jackie, we see, smell and feel the exhausted countryside slowly
return to life. but nothing can be as it was. Mix in mythology, sharp social
history, exquisite nature writing and pinpoint characterisation, and you have a
wonderful story that never misses a beat' Mike Parker
'In the Blood
is a growing up, coming-of-age tale set just after the war in a derelict Westmorland
country mansion, and the main theme is the hunt. This is fiction that doesn't
pull its punches. I found this novel utterly gripping and absorbing, very sharp
on class and the historical period. But above all it's a terrific, bewitching
read.' Patricia Dunker
'I read In the Blood
in a compulsive rush. Its evocation of a distorted, obsessive country childhood,
of a last gasp of fox hunting feudalism and its passionate Welshness make it
quite unlike anything else on offer. Think of a collaboration between Dodie Smith
and Alan Garner filmed by Powell and Pressburger and you're very close to its
vivid mysteries. Highly recommended.' Patrick Gale
'A tender exploration of class and childhood
that exhilaratingly celebrates myth and imagination as spurs to change.' Michele
Rogers
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 164 mm
Width: 242 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
492 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-907633-90-7 (9780907633907)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification