Drawn to this book by the evocative description and gorgeous cover, I predicted this would become a new firm favourite, and I was not wrong. Honestly, It captivated me from the very first word.

I’m sure there will be many reviews talking about the resilience, beauty, and raw power of the women in this book, and so they should, but for me, I was most mesmerised by the prose. It isn’t like anything I’ve ever read before. It is the first book that I truly got lost in the language. It transported me to Strasbourg with Lisbet, her bees, the newly returned Nethe, and the hysteria of the Dancing Plague.
I am sitting here wishing I was a wordsmith or, at least, had a better command/understanding of the English language, so I could fully express how much I am in love with the writing style.
A modern-day classic. Pure and simple.

Now, I don’t usually leave a review without mentioning the characters, but the lyrical prose has left me bereft of words.
Just know they are as exquisite as the writing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Pan MacMillan, for the gift of the ebook arc. As you can tell, I love this book.

Like the author's previous novel for adults, The Mercies is a well researched work based on real, historical events. Lisbet lives near Strasbourg with her husband and mother in law. At the beginning of the novel she is heavily pregnant having had several miscarriages. understandably she is apprehensive about this pregnancy and some distance has raised between her and her husband. Into this mix comes Nethe, her sister in law who has been atoning in the moutains for some heinous crime the details of which Lisbet has not been told. As in The Mercies there is a villain, a vile man who relies on religion to terrify and subjugate women. And in the town every evening are the dancers, men and women in a religious frenzy.

This is very well written but I couldn't get into it in the way that I had got into The Mercies. In some ways I found it a little too similar. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Answer these questions: What makes this book different from all others? And why should anyone care?

Set in 1518 Strasbourg, THE DANCE TREE follows Lisbet, a disenchanted wife living at her husband's family farm. Life is quiet but for the domineering Twenty One who rule local life with a rigid view of God's wishes. But that summer, her life gains sudden momentum with the return of her husband's sister, and the outbreak of a dancing plague in the city.

With queer and racially diverse side characters, the novel brings these marginalised groups to the centre of the story in a way that we so rarely see in historical fiction. Still, Hargrave does this with empathy and skill, and honestly - they were my favourite parts of the book (Eren is swoony).

Hargrave expertly conveys how the 'will of God' was seen as an absolute truth in the era, without making the characters feel impossibly alien to modern sensibilities. Still, with the historical context set, there was more to be desired in the descriptions of such far-off life, and I found it very difficult to fully understand how the world physically functioned and was navigated.

Ultimately, I think it was just a case of it not really being the story for me. The writing was lovely and fluid, but I just couldn't quite bring myself to care enough about Lisbet's life, and although the understanding of God's influence was clear, I found it hard to empathise with her motivations.

I was excited to read The Dance Tree, because I had read and thoroughly enjoyed Kiran Milwood.Hargrave’s previous book for adults, The Mercies,

The Dance Tree is set in a quite different time and place from The Mercies, but the author again beautifully shows the realities of women’s lives during times of great stress in their community. I really felt like I lived alongside the protagonist Lisbet and felt her love and heartbreak as the story developed.

A five star recommended read, for lovers of historical fiction and anyone who enjoys a well-told story.

THE DANCE TREE is a stunning historical novel set in early sixteenth-century Strasbourg, but did we expect anything else from Kiran Millwood Hargrave?

Like THE MERCIES, THE DANCE TREE is a story about ordinary medieval women caught up in sweeping events that start seemingly naturally (or unnaturally/supernaturally) but are then used by men to control, punish, and "put women in their place." It is a feminist look at power and abuse and the lives of people often overlooked by history.

After hating Absalom Cornet in THE MERCIES, we have another despicable man with too much power - and I thought Kiran Millwood Hargrave was going to struggle to get a more slimy-toad-of-a-villain who had frustratingly too much power. But no, enter Plater, who I wanted to be bumped off from his first introduction. KMH writes such human villains, which makes them all the more powerful and terrible powers in the books.

I should mention, not all the men are awful in this book. The male characters are as nuanced as the women, with all shades of "yes, I like you, you are a nice person" through to "plain awful," but she does seem to craft really effective male villains. The book also features prominent queer characters and isn't all-white.

It is also a book about grief and hope and pain. Lisbet is pregnant - has been before many times, but has miscarried each. The book explores the pain she feels for that, the painful hope and unwillingness to hope over the current pregnancy, and also the stigma attached to miscarriage.

All this is gorgeously written, the prose feeling like it has a melody of its own. Care has really been taken over getting the book to flow, mimicking the dancing - and it does get more frenetic as the story goes on and the danger increases.

The majority of the book is written from the perspective of Lisbet, but there are short chapters scattered throughout from a variety of dancers' perspectives. They are tiny little glances into the lives of those caught up in the dancing from all walks of life and experiences. I really liked how it showed another glimpse into the lives of ordinary women who are so often forgotten from the histories.

Two more adult books by Kiran Millwood Hargrave have been announced, which is very exciting - and both sound incredible.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave's second novel for adults is filled with similarities to her first, The Mercies - both feature complex women, patriarchy, witchcraft-adjacent weirdness and bizarre moments in history. But The Dance Tree is a deeply weird and haunting work all of its own, potentially hitting even harder than KMH's 2020 novel.
It focuses on the dancing plague that struck Strasbourg in 1518, where dozens of women danced - literally - to their deaths. It's a macabre and fascinating chapter in history, brought to life by KMH.

The novel focuses on three women - Lisbet, who is heavily pregnant after dozens of lost babies, Agnethe, recently returned from a seven-year-long penance, and Ida, picture-perfect wife with a secret. All three are fascinating, their strict adherences to the ways of life in 16th century Strasbourg dampening down their personalities but not extinguishing them entirely. KMH is so good at vividly showing the impact of living under patriarchy on these women, from Ida's fear of her husband to Lisbet's desperation to keep her husband happy by delivering a healthy baby. I know KMH has had some severe issues with fertility in the past and she explores it through Lisbet, in a nuanced and deeply compassionate way. She also approaches the dance plague delicately and movingly, linking it to the trauma & rage felt by so many women at this time.

In terms of the story of the women, it is not one that’s full of shocking twists and turns - I suspected some of it from early on - but the humanity, beauty and heartbreak of the story meant that it was still incredibly enjoyable. Another winner from Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

This book was incredible. I found it hard to get into, but once you got to the dancing lady, it really picked up.
Hargrave’s’ writing is rich and beautiful, heartbreaking and devastating.
She draws from personal experience of the inability to carry baby’s full term, and you can really feel the truth and honesty behind something so tragic.
She also wrote about religious mania extremely well. This is a topic that makes me angry, but she writes it very well and I definitely felt the need to keep writing.
I admit I am a sucker for a decent amount of content, and we certainly get that from Hargrave. The plot is very full on, something which I incredibly enjoyed.
Would recommend for anyone who is a fan of historical or literary fiction.

4.5 stars - rounded up to 5

Strasbourg, 1518. A dancing plague has begun.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave has a way of writing historical fiction that just ✨speaks✨ to me. I think any mark of a good historical fiction is if you leave the book with the restless urge to research the history. It happened for me with The Mercies and it’s happened again with The Dance Tree.

I wasn’t as excited for this book as I was with The Mercies because anything witch trial related has me completely entranced, but Millwood Hargraves penchant for feminist historical retellings and her dedication to honouring the history and the women will have me preordering anything she writes and I’m immensely glad I read The Dance Tree.

While eloquent and considerate, this book is also gritty and visceral. It delves into tough subject matter that were taboo in the 1500s and Millwood Hargrave weaves them in such a way to leave the reader shocked that parallels exist in the modern day and the strength of our lead, Lisbet, hopefully serves as a reminder that such prejudices shouldn’t be overlooked. Pregnancy loss, racism and homophobia are a few of the topics touched upon.

The females in this novel, much like with The Mercies, will stay with me for a long time. Their strength, resilience, their friendships and the grace with which they suffer their hardships are nothing short of remarkable.

I’m off to spend the next 12 hours researching this dancing plague!

The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Ad-pr product: Thank you Panmacmillan for my ebook via Netgalley - I have my preordered my beautiful edition which is published on Thursday ❤️

This was my first novel by Millwood Hargrave and it won't be my last. Set in 1518 Strasbourg, an area of France that because of it's disputed history was under German rule at this time. It tells the story of Lisbet and her bees, heavily pregnant with her baby, her husband's 'boy' despite their losses that have come before. The tree is used to symbolise her losses, each baby celebrated and recognised with their ribbons. This element of the story is heartbreaking and would be triggering for some. Millwood Hargrave handles this beautifully though, and I felt every ounce of Lisbet's pain.

We also find out the reason Lisbet's sister in law has been in enforced religious imprisonment for seven years, as she returns, head shaved and apparently remorseful. The village is run by the Twenty One, people like Ida's husband Plater, who thrive on power.

Underpinning this personal striving is the historical events that shaped that area at the time. In July 1518, in the midst of the hottest summer Central Europe had ever known, a woman whose name is recorded as Frau Troffea began to dance in the streets of Strasbourg. This was unrelenting, scooping up many others and was considered religious mania for good or evil.

These four women in the novel are swept up in this but they are finding their own ways to resist men's attempts to suppress, confine or crush their spirits, as the Twenty One are seeking to nullify the dancing women.

I loved this novel. Such an amazing, beautiful story of women at the time, heartbreak and power, tragedy and love that cannot be named. For fans of historical fiction, feminist novels, beautiful fiction, everyone should read this novel.

Five delicious cups of tea from me!
☕☕☕☕☕

And we women, we bear the brunt. We are bred or banished, and always, always damned."

This novel is phenomenally good. It focuses on Lisbet, a farmers wife on the outskirts of Strasbourg. Amid the dancing beginning in the city square — hundreds of people abandoning their lives and dancing, without pause, or rest — Lisbet’s sister in law returns from a nunnery where she was serving penance. She begins to question why Nethe was locked away, and why neither her husband nor mother in law will talk about it.

I, like so many others was introduced to the dancing plagues through Shane Madej (…I know I’m a little ashamed of myself too) but the phenomenon interested me, and I’ve gone on more than one wikipedia deep dive on the topic. So, when I saw this book I was OBSESSED.

As she investigates, Lisbet is drawn into another dance, darker and full of death and passion.

This is a beautiful written novel. Expertly capturing the fervour and panic of the people at the time. The tension is palpable throughout and Hargrave doesn’t shy away from challenging themes.

An excellent example of historical fiction that is brimming with humanity.

Thanks to PanMacmillan and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and was excited to pick up this new book from her.

Hargrave is a fantastic writer and her prose is rich and beautiful. However, in this book I found the overly descriptive writing quite a hindrance to the pacing of the story. It took a long time for the plot to get going and I felt my interest waning before the story had even really begun.

I found the central premise intriguing as it gives an account of a phenomenon where hundreds of women congregated on the streets and danced for days without stopping. This mystery provides the backdrop to the story of Lisbet who finds her family's livelihood of bee keeping to be under threat and is navigating the many secrets held by the family.

There is a lot going on in the plot but at times it felt quite tedious getting to the core elements of the story and the connection with the characters was lacking for me. Sadly this didn't have the same impact that The Mercies had on me and won't be as memorable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

A captivating story from page one. I thoroughly enjoyed The Dance Tree, the historical detail is second to none and watching the story unfold around Lisbet was cinematic. There was some serious pace to the plot which helped convey the wider story around religious mania and how communities during this time would get swept away with things with no forward looking. The decisions made in these moments were life and death and Hargrave really highlights the loss and injustice that could cut through communities.

Nethe and Ida's story was at the heart of the novel and their treatment a sad but necessary message even in the 21st century. I really enjoyed Lisbet's evolution as a person and her grit and determination for those she loved was palpable through the pages. The women are the story.

This is a story is for anyone that enjoys a well executed historical drama. Great Book.

I read The Mercies last year and was utterly gripped by the story and the writing and when I heard the author had a new book out I knew I needed to read it! The Dance Tree was completely spellbinding and I was drawn in from the first page and couldn’t put it down! It’s such a beautiful book

A beautifully written, rich and evocative historical novel about a fascinating moment in history - the mysterious dancing plague. The lush prose, the exploration of baby loss and the tender, troubled love stories in this novel - while seeped in tragedy - are its highlights. I also loved the chapters about those joining the dance plague, both strange and well reasoned.

Strasbourg 1518 - a woman starts dancing and can't stop. Nobody can stop her and , gradually, others come to join her.

Heavily-pregnant Lisbet is confronted with many difficulties: her husband has been summonsed to explain why they should be allowed to keep the meagre income from their bees; her sister-in-law Nethe has returned from confinement in a monastery; and she is desperately hoping that this pregnancy will finally give her a living baby.

With her husband away, Lisbet must rely on the women around her for support. As more women join the dancing, musicians arrive to play for them but bring with them more problems.

This is a story of love and loss, told - as always - thoughtfully and lyrically by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Her writing flows across the pages as the story unfolds.

I have read and enjoyed Julia and the Shark & The Mercies, so I was looking forward to reading this one. However, it was just not for me. I read the first 20% three times, since I was approved for the ARC, and had to DNF it. I found it too slow going for me and very little seemed to happen. I am disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this one and may head back to try again in a few months. I am looking forward to Leila and the Blue Fox and any more future releases by KMH. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

After thoroughly enjoying The Mercies, picking up The Dance Tree was a given. I fully expected to enjoy it, I was not prepared for how much I loved it or how much it crept under my skin.

Strasbourg, 1518. A woman starts dancing and can’t seem to stop. She’s not dancing to make a point, or to pester her husband, she just needs to dance: strange though it may be, it’s the only thing that seems to make sense to her.

Meanwhile in the countryside, Lisbet, a heavily pregnant young woman, stands to lose everything as her husband is summoned to a court of sorts to answer the claims that their bees steal from the land. Lisbet remains with her mother-in-law and a sister-in-law who has just returned from a convent where she did penance for a crime nobody wants to talk about.

The days are suffocatingly hot and the nights offer no reprieve. Lisbet is anxious for her baby to be born after having lost so many babies before, her sister-in-law is returning to her “wicked” ways and in the city, more and more women join the first lone dancer. The authorities open guildhalls and call in musicians to keep the dancers going, if there is evil in these women, it must be danced out of them.

The Dance Tree is stunningly evocative. Never overly descriptive, yet you practically feel the heat, the hunger, the desperation of these characters. Speaking of, they are well-rounded and realistic, and there’s a great villainous antagonist to counter the female protagonists, whom I loved for their stubborn streak and their courage and tenacity in the face of adversity.

The Dance Tree is incredibly atmospheric. It’s a story about strength and resilience and searching for peace when and where there is none to be had and at its very heart, it’s a story about love in all shapes and sizes.

I loved how the author incorporated the dancing plague into the fictional story. I learnt about this strange phenomenon in sixteenth century Strasbourg from Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright, which, incidentally, I would highly recommend to non-fiction readers who are interested in the history of plagues and medicine. I loved how true to the factual records The Dance Tree stays, while still moulding the dancing plague into a full-fledged and fascinating story element.

I really came to care for these characters, I was absorbed in their lives, The Dance Tree completely drew me in and I had the best time with it. I would highly recommend it to histfic lovers and it might be just the kind of story to enchant readers who want to dip their toe into the genre.

The Dance Tree is out on 12 May in hardcover, digital formats and audio.

Massive thanks to Picador and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Having enjoyed The Mercies I was looking forward to this new adult offering from Kiran Millwood Hargrave but I am not so sure that I actually enjoyed this one. It's a compelling read and very well written. But it's a tough story to read as Lisbet, the main character, has a joyless life apart from the bees that she looks after and loves. Difficult themes abound and most of them affect Lisbet. Sixteenth century women didn't have much choice about how their lives panned out and this is well described, as is the sense of time and place. Strasbourg's Twenty-One is something I remember from one of the modules for my History degree and they were tough and cruel leaders. As always, it was interesting to read a novel based around an actual historical event about which I knew nothing. With thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.

Early sixteenth century and Strasbourg is in the grip of what feels like a never-ending heatwave. A woman starts dancing in the town square and is soon joined by scores of others, all spinning and whirling as if in the grip of a religious mania.

Lisbet lives on the edge of the city with her husband, mother-in-law, and the memories of the children she’s miscarried. Her sister-in-law, Agnethe, is due back from her enforced exile and Lisbet is in the dark as to why she was sent away. When Lisbet’s husband is called to defend their ‘ownership’ of the bees they keep on monastery land, Lisbet and Agnethe are left to endure the rising political and religious tensions caused by the dancing women.

I enjoyed this book very much, and Millwood-Hargrove has a real talent for transporting you to a time and a place. I’ve recently read ‘The Mercies’ and was looking forward to more from this author. Despite the entirely different setting I did feel a lot of similarities between both books - strong women, forbidden love, religious persecution - and occasionally it was all a bit too familiar for me.

This is a well written and researched book, and one that I would recommend to someone looking for a great piece of historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We women, we bear the brunt. We are bred or banished, and always, always damned.’

In the blistering heat of the summer of 1518, a lone woman begins dancing feverishly in the Strasbourg’s city square. She dances for days, never taking a rest. Soon, she is joined by hundreds more and the authorities declare an emergency.

Lisbet, a beekeeper who lives just outside Strasbourg with her husband and mother in law, is heavily pregnant. As the dancing plague gathers momentum, her sister in law Nethe returns after being sentenced to seven years of penance for a crime that no one will tell Lisbet about. She is determined to uncover the truth, and finds that what lies hidden will have her dancing a very perilous tune.

The Dance Tree is another beautifully written story by Hargrave. She expertly captures the mass hysteria and superstitious nature of people at this time, a result of her impeccable research into this time period. The lyrical quality of Hargrave’s writing reminds me of another of her novels, The Mercies. There are a number of connections between these two stories in terms of the subject matter and themes addressed. Both are character-driven and examine the contemporary attitudes towards the LGBTQI+ community. The theme of female friendship and kinship is also paramount in both stories.

Tension is palpable throughout the story and Hargrave deals with the subjects outlined above as well as other serious themes such as misogyny, homophobia, infertility, miscarriage, religious trauma and domestic abuse to name but a few. Hargrave doesn’t shy away from looking at poignant themes.

As always, Hargrave’s characters are three-dimensional with their flaws, virtues and emotions expertly transcribed onto the page. Lisbet is my favourite character, a woman who has endured so much loss and heartache trying to being a baby into the world. Her resilience and that of the other characters to be free to be themselves is one of the standout aspects of this book. One of my favourite elements in the book is the Dance Tree, her safe harbour, her place of solace and refuge which she extends to others in the ultimate act of human compassion and friendship.

Hargrave has breathed humanity into an obscure and little-known historical event, creating a story that is truly beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measure. And I am glad of how Lisbet’s story ends and how Hargrave, even in a time of great personal tragedy, could write something as enthralling and touching as this story.

Five stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dance Tree will be published on May 12th. Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the arc.