The Drownings: dark rivalries and darker legacies entwine in this addictive and gripping campus novel

Hazel Barkworth

Formats & Editions

'Barkworth is excruciatingly good' OBSERVER

'An extraordinary story of female power and rage' KATIE BISHOP

'Breathtaking' ERIN KELLYSOMETIMES YOU MUST CHOOSE TO PLAY WITH FIRE...

On a remote university campus in the north of England, famed for the wild waters that surround it, two cousins arrive for the new term.

Zara wants to be at the centre of everything Leysham has to offer.

Serena, an ex-champion swimmer, struggles to find her place.

When they meet Jane, a beguiling and ambitious postgrad obsessed with historic local witch trials, both are drawn in by her desire to expose Leysham's dark legacy - a centuries-old culture of violence among the privileged elite.

As protests flare across the campus, a simmering rivalry takes hold between the cousins. But when cracks start to appear in Jane's stories, everything spirals out of control...

*

'I can't remember the last time I read a book that described so perfectly the powers held within and used against women's bodies' KATE VAN DER BORGH

A provocative and suspenseful campus novel about obsession, influence and the power of young women - for fans of The Four, Weyward and Promising Young Woman.

Praise for Hazel Barkworth:

'Stylish and sensual' Kiran Millwood Hargrave

'Utterly immersive' Clare Mackintosh

'A sultry, stifling debut exploring power, consent and womanhood' Cosmopolitan

'Barkworth has a pin-sharp eye for detail . . . it's propulsive, though-provoking and atmospheric' Daily Mail

Read More

More books by Hazel Barkworth

Praise for The Drownings: dark rivalries and darker legacies entwine in this addictive and gripping campus novel

  • A breathtaking book, dark academia at its most compelling. An injured swimmer is drawn to a picturesque university in the north of England with a bleak history - the local river was once used to drown witches and the water is still greedy for bodiesBarkworth's lyrical prose and stunning writing sings from the page in this extraordinary story of female power, rage and oppression. A visceral, topical novel that is sure to spark conversation

Read More
Hazel Barkworth

Hazel Barkworth

Hazel grew up in Stirlingshire and North Yorkshire before studying English at Oxford. She then moved to London where she spent her days working as a cultural consultant, and her nights dancing in a pop band at glam rock clubs. Hazel is a graduate of both the Oxford University MSt in Creative Writing and the Curtis Brown Creative Novel-Writing course. She now works in Oxford, where she lives with her partner. Heatstroke is her first novel.

More about Hazel Barkworth

Related books