The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood

“This book feels as though I could have pulled it, dust-coated, from a half-forgotten shelf. A true feast of myth and wonder; it fed both the Arthuriana-loving child in me and the adult hungry for fresh ways of looking at old tales. I grinned, I cried, I didn't want to put it down and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished.”

“H.G. Parry masterfully blends myth, history, and legend into a rich and heartfelt story. The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood is a worthy addition to the annals of Arthuriana.” 

"H.G. Parry is a writer known for building on what has come before, and in The Witch Beneath the Dreaming Wood she draws deeply on the traditions of Arthurian romances. A magical blend of real World War II history with the mythical history of the great romantic legends creates a charmingly original entry into the Arthurian canon, full of rich and believable characters. A lovely read!”

“I devoured this tale! Parry braids Arthurian myths into war-time Britain with urgency and deft. Her magic is as haunting as a sea-wind. Her writing brings both history and legend to life.” 

"A spectacular, dreamlike journey through British myth and history, this is truly the Arthurian legend for our times: lyrical, haunting, wounded, but also full of hope. H. G. Parry has written a masterpiece.”

“The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood brims with the same magic as T.H. White’s The Once and Future King as it braids the untold story of Nimue and Merlin with the grit and horror of the London Blitz. The result is a poignant tale of those desperate to escape their fates yet determined to do the right thing, of falling in love with the dream, and of persistence despite the inevitability of the end. An extraordinary love letter to Arthuriana."

"Blending history and legend, Parry delicately illustrates how troubled times cause humanity to romanticize the past with futile desperation, yet ultimately the story ends with messages of hope and moral duty. This is a love letter to stories, and her stylistic approach, with varied pacing and narrative voice, encourages careful reading and intentional, poignant reflection."

Praise for H. G. Parry: 

“By turns wondrous, haunting, and mysterious, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door asks big questions and delivers all the right answers. This book is historical fantasy at its finest." —Olivia Atwater, author of Half a Soul

"Part historical fantasy, part campus novel, and entirely magical, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is easily my favorite read of this year. Parry has crafted an unputdownable, bittersweet tale about thorny love, belonging, and what it means to truly fix a broken world." —Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic

"A brilliant story of magic and scholarship and ambition. Of sacrifices made to keep loved ones safe, and a secret world that is wilder and stranger and more complicated than even those living in it know. This is a marvelous, thought-provoking, captivating novel, and I loved it completely." —Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians