The Daylight Gate
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cornerstone
Published:15th Oct '20
Should be back in stock very soon

Based on the Pendle witch trials of 1612, an extraordinary story of magic, superstition, and ruthless murder by Jeanette Winterson, author of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
'Utterly compulsive' Daily Telegraph
'A gripping gothic read' Sarah Hall, Guardian
'So seductive ...
'Utterly compulsive' Daily Telegraph
'A gripping gothic read' Sarah Hall, Guardian
'So seductive ... I was hooked' Independent
The Forest of Pendle used to be a hunting ground, but some say that the hill is the hunter - alive in its black-and-green coat cropped like an animal pelt.
Good Friday, 1612. Two notorious witches await trial and certain death in Lancaster Castle, whilst a small group gathers in secret protest. Into this group the self-made Alice Nutter stakes her claim and swears to fight against the rule of fear. But what is Alice's connection to these witches? What is magic if not power, and what will happen to the women who possess it?
If you like her other novels, you will adore this. She has done her homework... the beauty of the writing, exemplary in its pared-down simplicity. It’s so seductive that by the middle I was hooked. * Independent *
If you like her other novels, you will adore this. She has done her homework... the beauty of the writing, exemplary in its pared-down simplicity. It’s so seductive that by the middle I was hooked. * Independent *
Sharp-eyed view of history... Winterson is at her best her when she’s dealing with real horrors. * Observer *
This is a dazzling book. Winterson is a deft storyteller and a writer of wonderful economy. It is one of the very few contemporary novels that I actually wished were longer. * Literary Review *
A book worth reading – utterly compulsive, thick with atmosphere and dread, but sharp intelligence too...Ultimately she combines compelling history and poetic dialogue with suspense...This rather more sophisticated story would make a particularly vivid film. * Telegraph *
Winterson seamlessly blends history with fiction... The Daylight Gate is an enthralling story unfussily told, I read it all in one sitting, only wishing there were more. * Evening Standard *
Winterson weaves history with fiction in this atmospheric and totally captivating novel. Cancel your plans, you won't want to put this down. * Daily Express *
Told with the author’s usual aplomb and should appeal to her many fans. * Daily Mail *
This dark story with its fantastical trappings of magick and mysticism, its strong women and wild, Lancastrian setting is Winterson’s natural habitat and she maps it with relish, weaving Shakespearean themes of ambiguous love affairs conducted by shape-shifting, androgynous lovers around the dire squalor superstition and sheer desperation revealed by the bleak facts of the trial...Filled with Winterson’s characteristic intelligence and energy... lively and enjoyable. * New Statesman *
Beautifully written.
* Independent on Sunday *ISBN: 9781786091321
Dimensions: 197mm x 130mm x 15mm
Weight: 170g
240 pages