Description

A stunning fantasy novel, perfect for fans of Philip
Pullman and shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize 2023.

‘A dark, clever, enthralling fantasy’ THE
GUARDIAN

‘This is a book to escape into’ THE IRISH
TIMES

‘[Walker] has drawn a vivid magic-ravaged world’ SFX

Since the world fell sick with fantastical illnesses, sisters
Payton and Ani have grown up in the hospital of King Jude’s.

Payton wants to be a methic like her father, working on a cure
for her mother’s sleeping fever. Ani, however, thinks the
remedy for all illness might be found in the green wilderness beyond
the hospital walls.

When Ani stumbles upon an imprisoned boy who turns everything
he touches to gold, her world is turned upside-down. The girls find
themselves outside the hospital for the first time, a dark mystery
unravelling …

The first teen novel from Angharad Walker, author of
critically-acclaimed The Ash House

Angharad’s writing evokes the clever, unique world-building
and philosophical themes of Pullman’s His
Dark Materials while remaining startlingly original

The story follows two sisters in a London-inspired city
full of fantastical illness and sprawling, gothic hospitals where
dark secrets linger beneath the surface

Praise for THE ASH HOUSE:

‘An unexpected – and pleasing – combination of
propitious and disquieting.’ KIRKUS REVIEWS

‘Walker’s immersive story slowly reveals its secrets,
using tension as a lever to tip the reader deep into the Ash House’s
mysteries.’ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

‘The book has allegorical chill that settles slowly, like
damp seeping in . . . leaving readers with a feeling of
ambiguous unease that may stir for a long time in the back
of their minds like the after-effects of a nightmare.’ THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL