Seventeen-year-old Silvie joins her father, Bill, on a historical reenactment camp in the Northumbrian wilderness. Bill is an amateur historian obsessed with the Iron Age, forcing Silvie and a group of archaeology students to live in mud huts and wear rough wool. Under his rigid control, the group recreates the habits of ancient Britons, including the construction of a ghost wall intended to ward off enemies. As Bill’s obsession with the ritualistic violence and human sacrifices of the bog people intensifies, the boundary between historical roleplay and modern domestic abuse collapses into physical danger.
This book is for readers interested in the intersection of British folk horror and the psychology of patriarchal control. It suits those who study how historical obsession can be used to justify contemporary bigotry and class resentment. The reader learns how small, isolated groups normalize extremism through communal ritual. By the end, the audience understands the specific mechanics of how nostalgia for a violent past can be weaponized against women in the present.
Thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2018
- Language
- EN
