The Mercies

📘 About This Book

The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club pick and BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick. For readers of Circe and The Handmaid’s Tale, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's The Mercies is inspired by real historical events – a story about the strength and courage of women. ‘Dark, dramatic and full of danger’ - Daily Mail The storm comes in like a finger snap . . . 1617. The sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a vicious storm. A young woman, Maren, watches as the men of the island, out fishing, perish in an instant. Vardø is now a place of women . . . Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet has been summoned to bring the women of the island to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In her new home, and in Maren, Ursa encounters something she has never seen before: independent women. But where Ursa finds happiness, even love, Absalom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs . . . A story about how suspicion can twist its way through a community, about a love that could prove as dangerous as it is powerful. ‘Gripping’ - Madeline Miller, author of Circe ‘Took my breath away’ - Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring ‘A beautifully intimate story of friendship, love and hope’ - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain ‘Something rare and beautiful’ - Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel ‘Chilling and page-turning’ - The Times

📖 Summary

Set against the stark and unforgiving backdrop of 1617, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's novel The Mercies plunges readers into the remote Norwegian island of Vardø. The narrative opens with a catastrophic event that alters the very fabric of the island community in an instant. A sudden, vicious storm sweeps across the sea while the men of Vardø are out fishing, consuming them all and leaving behind a settlement comprised entirely of women. This dramatic twist forces the surviving women to adapt rapidly to a harsh new reality, taking over tasks traditionally reserved for men just to survive the freezing winters and unforgiving elements. For a period, the women find a fragile strength in their isolation, building a society sustained by resilience and mutual reliance. However, this hard-won autonomy is threatened eighteen months later with the arrival of a sinister figure named Absalom Cornet. Summoned to bring the island community to heel, Cornet brings with him rigid patriarchal authority and the looming shadow of suspicion, intending to bend the independent women of Vardø to his will. Accompanying Cornet is his young wife, Ursa, who finds herself thrust from her familiar surroundings into a desolate and alien landscape. In her new home, Ursa experiences an awakening as she encounters the fierce independence of the islanders and forms a profound connection with Maren, a young woman who watched her father and brother perish in the fateful storm. Through the interactions between Ursa, Maren, and the encroaching forces of authority, the novel explores themes of female solidarity, survival, and the dangerous intersections of fear and power. Drawing inspiration from real historical events, the story captures the atmospheric tension of a community under siege, examining how ordinary people find courage in the face of overwhelming danger and systemic oppression. Millwood Hargrave crafts a dark and dramatic tale that resonates with contemporary echoes of historical witch trials, reminiscent of other acclaimed explorations of female autonomy and resilience such as Circe and The Handmaid's Tale.

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