SPRING SALE 📚 Buy 3+ Books | Get 25% Off
Tertulia Logo
Sign upLog In
Cart Icon0
Cart Icon0
The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: The Book of Gothel: Memoir of a Witch, Mary McMyne

The Book of Gothel: Memoir of a Witch

Mary McMyne

Paperback
Regular price$23.99With free membership trial$11.9950% off your first book+ Free shipping
In Stock– Ships within one business day

Do you recommend this book?

Yes!

No

"Smart, swift, sure-footed and fleet-winged, The Book of Gothel launches its magic from a most reliable source: the troubled heart. Mary McMyne is a magician."--Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in her tower, but do you know the story of the witch who put her there? Mary McMyne's spellbinding debut, rich with historical detail and forbidden magic, reveals the truth behind the fairy tales--the truth only a witch could tell.

Germany, 1156. Shunned by her village for her unusual fainting spells and black eyes, young Haelewise's only solace lies in her mother's stories of witches, magic wolf-skins, and ancient mist-cloaked towers. When her mother dies, she sets off through the woods for the mysterious tower of fable: Gothel. There, Haelewise discovers a haven, a safe refuge for women like her and for those who have lost their way in the harsh world of men. A place where magic lives and where fairy tales of her mother's stories have more truth than she'd ever imagined.

Praise for The Book of Gothel:

"A sweeping, sharp story of how history twists into fairy tales and back again." --Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author

"Sparkles with the intermingled magic of gods and goddesses, seers and wise women." --Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches

"A sprawling epic, full of magic, love, and heartbreak." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Book Details

  • Publisher: Redhook
  • Publish Date: Sep 5th, 2023
  • Pages: 400
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.20in - 6.16in - 1.07in - 0.96lb
  • EAN: 9780316393218
  • Categories: • Fantasy - Historical• Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology• Historical - Medieval

More books to explore

Book Cover for: Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher
Book Cover for: Where the Drowned Girls Go, Seanan McGuire
Book Cover for: Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan
Book Cover for: The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon
Book Cover for: The Book Eaters, Sunyi Dean
Book Cover for: The Witch's Heart, Genevieve Gornichec
Book Cover for: A Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J. Maas
Book Cover for: The Fall of Gondolin, J. R. R. Tolkien
Book Cover for: A River Enchanted, Rebecca Ross
Book Cover for: The Stardust Thief, Chelsea Abdullah
Book Cover for: Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Book Cover for: A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon
Book Cover for: A Choir of Lies, Alexandra Rowland
Book Cover for: Medusa's Sisters, Lauren J. a. Bear
Book Cover for: The Brides of Maracoor, Gregory Maguire

About the Author

Mary McMyne has widely published stories and poems in venues like Redivider, Gulf Coast, Strange Horizons, and Apex Magazine, and her debut fairytale poetry chapbook, Wolf Skin (Dancing Girl Press, 2014), won the Elgin Chapbook Award. She is a graduate of the New York University MFA Program.

More books by Mary McMyne

Book Cover for: A Rose by Any Other Name, Mary McMyne
Book Cover for: El Libro de Gothel, Mary McMyne

What people are saying

Mentioner image for: Shaindel Beers 🍻
Shaindel Beers 🍻
@shaindelr
2 years

Winner of the 2017 White Pine Press Poetry Prize, Poetry Editor of @Contrary (https://t.co/YwyNcr8xs2) A little bit Professor. A little bit Mary Ann. #Av

Going to bed to read more of The Book of Gothel by @MaryMcMyne . It's SO good! https://t.co/0PPSKv4VJm #books #writerslift

twitter.com
Mentioner image for: Mary McMyne
Mary McMyne
@MaryMcMyne
1 year

Mary McMyne is an author.

If you haven’t gotten your hands on THE BOOK OF GOTHEL yet, she’s a Kindle Daily Deal today—$2.99 on e-book! https://t.co/6XDaaCCDkW https://t.co/IPWCLHR1KG

twitter.com
Mentioner image for: Alyssa Palombo
Alyssa Palombo
@AlyssInWnderlnd
2 years

Alyssa Palombo is a historical fiction author.

Wishing the happiest of book birthdays to my agency sister @MaryMcMyne and THE BOOK OF GOTHEL! My preordered copy is on its way, and I can't wait to read! https://bookshop.org/books/the-book-of-gothel-9780316393218/9780316393119

twitter.com
Show more

Praise for this book

"Smart, swift, sure-footed and fleet-winged, The Book of Gothel launches its magic from a most reliable source: the troubled heart. Mary McMyne is a magician. Her take on the Rapunzel tale glows like a cloisonné gem set against a fist of dark soapstone."--Gregory Maguire, NYT bestselling author of Wicked
"Heartfelt and vividly imagined, this intriguing backstory to a classic fairy tale lifts the curtain on a medieval world where women battle to keep magic alive."--Emily Croy Barker, author of The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic
"Fable and history rhyme in McMyne's captivating vision of a medieval past steeped in women's magic and bound by women's love."--Jordanna Max Brodsky, author of The Immortals and The Wolf in the Whale
"An inventive retelling of a classic tale that pulls you deep into the wild woods of medieval Germany. The Book of Gothel is a spell-binding debut."--Signe Pike, author of The Forgotten Kingdom
"Mary McMyne's The Book of Gothel is a gut-punch of a fantasy novel - I found myself completely enraptured by this story within a story, and even more taken by the end, which I totally didn't see coming. Gothel feels both familiar and like a completely original fairy tale, and I was moved by the Jewish representation. This is Rapunzel like you've never seen her before." --Rena Rossner, author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood
"The Book of Gothel delivers an intelligent spin on a well-loved fairy tale, the rich historical detail deftly woven with folktale magic and thoughtful characterization."--Rowenna Miller, author of Torn
"Certain stories endure because of their beauty, wonder, and wisdom. The Book of Gothel is such a novel--one that will hold readers in delighted thrall right to the startling end."--Ronlyn Domingue, author of The Mercy of Thin Air and the Keeper of Tales Trilogy
"This is the fairy tale retelling I never knew I needed. Rooted in history, THE BOOK OF GOTHEL highlights the relationships between women and the ways in which we both help and hinder each other in the name of love and loyalty. Haelewise will be in my heart for a very long time."--Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart
"This debut novel by poet McMyne offers a fresh reimagining of the story of Rapunzel's witch.... Readers who have enjoyed Gregory Maguire's "Wicked Years" series will find McMyne's perspective delightful."--Library Journal
"McMyne's debut is a reinvention of the Rapunzel fairy tale, a luscious origin story from the witch's point of view.... McMyne melds folklore with actual historical figures and cleverly bookends the narrative with opening and closing chapters set in the twenty-first century."--Booklist
"This gorgeous, feminist retelling of 'Rapunzel' immediately captivates ... Readers of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden will adore this new fairytale fantasy."--Buzzfeed Books
"The Book of Gothel is wonderfully rich with historical detail, and sparkles with the intermingled magic of gods and goddesses, seers and wisewomen. Haelewise is a memorable heroine, worthy of legend. Readers will see the story of Rapunzel in a new and refreshing light."--Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches
"Mary McMyne's debut novel is dark and moody...This atmosphere, combined with the deep longings and confusion of a girl just entering womanhood and the fact that readers have a good idea of the fate that awaits her, shadows The Book of Gothel with an overwhelming sense of dread--but will also compel readers to keep going to the very end."--BookPage

"I absolutely loved The Book of Gothel. It combines everything I tend to love about stories in a breathtaking manner and is very hard to put down... It is a book I highly recommend and I see myself coming back to again and again."

--Grimdark Magazine

"Both gently and fiercely told, The Book of Gothel is a sweeping, sharp story of how history twists into fairytale and back again."

--Hannah Whitten, NYT bestselling author of For The Wolf
"McMyne's shimmering debut gives a fresh, exciting backstory to one of the most famous villains in fairy tale lore: the witch who put Rapunzel in her tower.... The result is a sprawling epic, full of magic, love, and heartbreak. Fans of Circe and The Wolf and the Woodsman will devour this taut, empowering fairy tale."--Publishers Weekly

What people are saying

See more