The Girl from Rawblood

Starred review from January 9, 2017
Born in England in 1899, Iris Villarca, the principal narrator of Ward’s superb debut, grows up without human company, except for Tom Gilmore, a farmer’s son with whom she forms a secret bond, and her father, Alonso, the only other surviving Villarca. She believes that a rare disease necessitates their seclusion at Rawblood, their Dartmoor estate, but as she matures, Alonso reveals the truth: isolation is the only way to save Iris from a ghostly presence that destroys the Villarcas when they fall in love, marry, or have children. As WWI begins, Iris violates her father’s interdictions with horrific repercussions for both of them. A flashback to 1881, related by Charles Danforth, a doctor privy to Alonso’s complex past, reveals other horrors. Later, new viewpoints, spanning the years from 1839 to 1919, focus on the family’s women as each negotiates the powerlessness of her situation and time. Sharply evoked particulars—Devon’s landscape and period medical science emerge with special vividness—help root the spectral phenomena. Wade perfectly balances sensory richness with the chills of the uncanny. Agent: Sam Copeland, Rogers, Coleridge & White (U.K.).

Starred review from February 1, 2017

Ward's textured debut opens in 1910 with young Iris Villarca. "This is how I come to kill my father. It begins like this," the 11-year-old girl says, setting a tone of dark overcast that will continue to the last page. Iris lives with her father at Rawblood, an estate on England's bleak Dartmoor moors with a dark history and unmarked graves. Iris lives by a strict set of rules that center on a singular focus: do not form any relationships, unless you want yourself--and others--to die. The last of their line, the Villarcas are trailed by a deadly curse that not only haunts those they love, but sickens any family member who tries to leave the property. Needless to say, Iris rebels against her father's rules and sets her sights on hapless farmer Tom Gilmore. Their budding romance unleashes a wonderfully twisted narrative that moves among time periods and points of view. VERDICT Despite a confused and stilted reading (owing to an overreliance on sentence fragments) in some of the chapters, Ward's layered and skillfully crafted novel weaves elements of classic gothic and horror into a remarkable story populated by unforgettable characters, palpable atmosphere, and rich lyricism. Imagine the darkest and goriest undertones of Edgar Allan Poe, the Brontes, Charles Dickens, and Shirley Jackson, and you'll have an idea of what Ward offers here. [Winner of Best Horror Novel at the British Fantasy Awards 2016.--Ed.]--Erin Entrada Kelly, Haverford, PA

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