About this item
Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in the tower, but do you know the story of the witch who put her there? Told from her own perspective, The Book of Gothel is a lush, historical retelling filled with dark magic, crumbling towers, mysterious woods, and evil princes. This is the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it.Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda - a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.
About the Author
Mary McMyne's debut novel, (2022) , tells the story of the medieval midwife who would become known as the witch from Rapunzel. Her second novel (2024) will be the magic-infused story of Shakespeare's Dark Lady. Her poetry chapbook, (2014) , won the Elgin Chapbook Award. She has received the Faulkner-Wisdom Prize for a Novel-in-Progress and a grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, among other honors. A former English professor, she is the poetry editor for and a graduate of the NYU MFA program. Find her on Instagram as @marymcmyne, or subscribe to her quarterly newsletter at marymcmyne. substack. com. NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I track most of the books I read here, but I only post ratings or reviews of select five-star reads--usually only books I blurb. I love many books I don't rate!
