Last week I read The Dance Tree by @kiran_mh and it left me with plenty of thoughts. While it took me a little while to get into it, Lisbet’s (our main character) personality, her raw pain and her tenacity slowly drew me in, as it would the bees that are her passion in the story. In this way, I found the writing to be very clever, and although quite descriptive at times, there’s no doubt that it takes you to the scorching hot Strasbourg and the events that happen here.
In terms of themes discussed, the main one and the one that touched my heart was the rawness of motherhood (whether there’s a baby to show for it or not) and the fierceness a mother feels to protect her children, born and unborn. This is something often discuss, but not always in relation to those mothers that lost children, particularly those that went early… and that is a very good, important and refreshing perspective to bring into the light. There is also some racism and homophobia, as is to be expected for the time and society depicted, and it was interesting to see how our main character dealt with it and with her own prejudice and, although I felt that particular part was a bit rushed, it was interesting to see and try to picture it in relation to that context.

So all in all, I did enjoy this book, with its similarities to The Crucible, with its characters and its rawness…and with Eren!

I must confess I had never heard of the dancing plagues- what an interesting and unusual phenomenon, captured here through the eyes of Lisbet, a woman mourning the loss of 12 babies due to miscarriage. Her mysterious sister-in-law returns from the mountains as the dance plague begins, and Lisbet is kept in the dark about why she was banished.
As the dancers grow and the musicians assemble, forces of good and evil are stirring in the hearts of men.
The author deliberately captures the raw emotions of pregnancy loss, as well as forbidden love and weaves a hauntingly beautiful tale.

I was first intrigued by this book because I've always been slightly fascinated by The Dance Plague of 1518 - is that slightly morbid? probably - and so a story set then intrigued me. What Hargrave has done here has taken this slightly bizarre historical factoid and breathed life and humanity into it. 

The story focuses for the most part on Lisbet, a beekeeper and farmer's wife on the outskirts of Strasbourg. However, we get little interludes where we see a snapshot of some of the women who ended up caught up in the dance plague, and these were excellently executed to show us a little of who they were as people and how they ended up dancing. This is part of a continued theme throughout the book of focusing on the lives and personhood of the women of this story, and rooting the answer to why the plague happened in their lives and experiences and psyches. 

Lisbet is a sympathetic and likeable character who has faced great losses, and Hargrave truly pulls the reader into her life and mind. 

The story starts with the return of her sister-in-law - who has been doing penance in a nunnery - and her husband having to journey away from home. Part of the first half of the book is focused on the mystery of why her sister-in-law, Agnethe, had to do penance. Now, I figured this out pretty quickly because I'd already seen what rep the book had been tagged with, and so grew a little impatient with how long it takes for this to be revealed, but I'm not sure how obvious it was supposed to be without that context.

Agnethe and the other side characters as also excellently sketched out, and all together Hargrave's writing portrays a vivid picture of the era and its people, with excellent use of imagery and language. 

Highly recommend for fellow histfic lovers!

This is another atmospheric, beautifully written novel by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. As with The Mercies, the tension was palpable throughout and I could feel the oppressive, breathless heat the characters had to endure.

It’s a character-driven novel and a celebration of female friendship. I loved reading about the kinship and loyalty between these strong, courageous women. Alef Plater was as vile as Cornet in the Mercies, using religion as a weapon to punish those he disagrees with. The author has a real talent for creating characters you really despise, as well as those you can really root for.

I was worried that the book might head down the ‘all men are evil’ route so I was glad for the sympathetic male characters. I enjoyed the sensitivity of the music players which further highlighted the cruelty dished out by some of the other men.

It’s really well written and the tension was palpable. The drought and famine, misogyny and racism combined with the supposition and hysteria created by the men in charge, created an almost claustrophobic atmosphere. You could easily imagine why these women experienced such ‘abandonments’.

The author drew on her own experience of pregnancy loss, so Lisbet’s fears for her baby felt really authentic and the descriptions of her dance tree were really moving. I also enjoyed the sections where Lisbet was at peace with her bees. I could feel the calm and serenity she experienced when she was with them.

I loved this story of forbidden relationships and found it to be a really emotive read.

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

TW: miscarriage and infertility

Set in Strasbourg during the summer of 1518, The Dance Tree opens with the true-to-history ‘dancing plague’ that hit the city. It begins with one woman, who dances without rest for days in the city square, before hundreds of others join her. An emergency is declared and musicians are then brought to the city to ‘play the devil out’ of them.

Meanwhile, our book’s protagonist, Lisbet, lives just outside of the city with her husband and mother in law and is heavily pregnant. She has lost all of her previous children during pregnancy, and remembers them by tying a ribbon for each child to an abandoned pagan dance tree. The family lead a quiet life tending to their bees - that is until Lisbet’s sister-in-law, Nethe, returns after seven years’ penance in the mountains for a crime that no one is willing to discuss. That will not stop Lisbet from trying to find out what has gone on, and secrets buried long ago do not stay hidden for much longer.

The Dance Tree is a beautiful, often painful exploration of family ties, secrecy, loyalty, forbidden love and issues that women and minority communities have faced for centuries. The novel’s prose has the same lyrical poeticism that Kiran Millwood Hargrave has become known for and is an emotional read, especially as the writer herself has been open about her experiences with miscarriage. You really feel for Lisbet, Ida and Nethe, but on the whole this novel is a little more plot-driven than it is character, and I would have loved to see these brilliant women fleshed out a little more!

The Dance Tree is released on May 12th 2022. Thank you to Netgalley and Picador for the ARC!

Set against the backdrop of real events that happened in 16th Century Strasbourg this tells the story of Lisbet, a young woman trapped in an increasingly loveless marriage and tormented by recurrent miscarriages. Pregnant for the 13th time, she struggles with her fears, the oppressive heat of a relentless summer and the restrictions of her family and the religious regime that has the city in its grip. In a situation like this, something has to give and over the space of a few weeks, things come to a head.

Lisbet's banished sister in law returns to the family and home in the city, pushed to the limits of endurance by the oppression and hunger they struggle with, begin to dance in a kind of trance like state that induces a citywide hysteria. Everything Lisbet thought she understood about life is turned on its head and she is forced to look at everything anew.

Milwood Hargrave is fantastic at creating a sense of rising tension and a real feeling for the boiling heat of the city, both inside and out. This is passionate, radical and exciting.

Really enjoyed this book - I felt I connected more with it than I did The Mercies and I preferred the setting in this one too (the heat and stench of 16th century Strasbourg over the cold bleak landscape of the Arctic). Millwood Hargrave is great at building settings and also a great array of characters that are more diverse than you might expect from historical fiction. She also has themes she likes to return to that I find interesting = religious panic, queer forbidden love, the roles of women in historical settings. Lisbet is a great protagonist, and I especially liked her relationship with Eren and her attachment to her bees. I thought the way the dancing plague was incorporated was really effective, especially the interspersed chapters that covered some of the dancers, though I liked the added context from the author's note too. Overall, a really good book and I think perfect if you previously enjoyed The Mercies, or Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet.

The Dance Tree is a hypnotising read, a lyrical and unnerving novel about a fascinating historical event, the dancing plague of 1518.

I have to admit, I found it very difficult not to compare it with Hargrave's previous books: there are some key themes she returns to again and again in her work, and there are strong echoes of The Mercies here. I almost feel I would have enjoyed this more if I HADN'T read The Mercies, because in many ways it's more evocative and finely wrought. The Dance Tree gets a little slack in places, and reading it sometimes felt a bit like trying to concentrate through the heatstroke that many of the characters suffer. I also found many of the plot points a little too predictable.

That said, while it may not be Hargrave's best work, The Dance Tree is still an accomplished and compelling novel, and one I would recommend to fans of historical fiction.

trigger warning
<spoiler> grief, trauma, mention of miscarriages, mention of torture, mention of suicide, mental illness, alcoholism, domestic violence, toxic relationship, cruelty towards animals, animal death, the dog dies, starvation, gore, racism, misogyny</spoiler>

1518, near Strasbourgh: A beekeeper's family expects his sister to return after seven years of doing penance in a monastery, and the beekeeper's pregnant wife is anxious because she doesn't know the woman yet - or why she had to go away, since nobody talks about her.
Times are tough. The hard winter was followed by a burning summer, and tensions are rising.

I requested this because I have heard great things about the author's writing, the cover is beautiful, and the dancing plague of 1518 fascinates me. Dancing plague means people dancing till they fall over dead, more and more joining them. There are multiple theories why this might have happened - and it happened quite a lot in the middle ages. What is special about this case is that it is probably the best documented case.

I was not disappointed in either case: The writing is beautiful and compelling, and while the people on the farm are in the focus, the next big city is Strasbourgh and when they go to church on sunday, they are confronted with the dancing women. They see how it goes from one women, to a few, to many - and how the people in power try to break the plague. On top of that is the mystery of Agnethe, the protagonist's sister in law she never met and who might be a new ally. Or make an already bad situation so much worse.

This was ... I am reluctant to say awesome, let's say compelling. I sat down to read a bit, not being in the mood, and a while later realised I just read the majority of this in one go.
I will certainly read more about the topic and by this author.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this ebook in return for a review.

As soon as I saw when this book was set I was desperate to read it. I don’t remember when I first heard about the Dancing Plague that took hold of Strasbourg in the 16th century but it has fascinated me ever since. And of course, a novel is often such a brilliant way to access it.

This has been thoroughly researched of course and whilst the protagonist, Lisbet isn’t directly involved in the plague it’s effects have a massive impact on her life.

At the start of the novel we are introduced to her, living with her husband and her less that sympathetic mother in law, awaiting for her sister in law to return home after being put in a convent to repent. Lisbet has no idea what her sister in law has done to deserve seven years of punishment and no one is willing to tell her. On top of this she is pregnant for the 13th time after losing all her other babies to miscarriage.

Lisbet is the star of the show; she is generous and loving, desperate to bring her child safely to life and determine enough to make decisions about her own life. She was a completely rounded character who deals with jealously, anger and irritation.

Her sister in laws arrival is a revelation as her husband has to leave to go for a long errand, the two woman form a friendship and understanding, that neither of them expected.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s beautifully written with a range of 3 dimensional characters. The fact that it uses the dance plague as a dramatic device to explore how women’s life were in that time just adds to how fascinating it is.

My only slight criticism is there was often confusion over where the people were. So they’d start talking in the garden and suddenly be in the town or woods without mention of their moving or getting on the wagon/mule. Leaving you to go ‘oh they’ve moved, have they?’

Other than that, I really recommend it and I can see it being a really big hit. I’d be surprised if someone didn’t make this into a film. I’m so glad I got it!

Whilst the quality of writing is undeniable,I’m afraid I found this book unremittingly grim.It’s set in 1518,in Strasbourg and is based on real events,when,during the hottest summer in living memory, a group of women are gripped ,perhaps by religious mania (the cause is unknown) and dance till they drop ,unable to stop themselves.
Lisbet is expecting a child but has lost all her babies until now ;her sister in law,Agnethe ,returns from 7 years penance for an unknown crime.When Lisbet’s husband has to present himself before the church court ,events take an unexpected turn and Lisbet has to defend her family and friends from the malign influence of the leader of the local ruling council,Plater.
There are many poignant moments and Lisbet is a memorable character,but I struggled to finish the book as it was so bleak.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!


Life really got in the way of me writing this review, huh.

Well, let me start of by saying that it's no secret that I am a huge Kiran Millwood-Hargrave fan and she is one of my autobuy authors, so I was thrilled to be approved for The Dance Tree!

Admittedly, I finished this book back in March but The Dance Tree still haunts me. The prose was absolutely exisquite and haunting, and I adored it. Kiran's lush prose is something I always look forward to. The main characters drive the majority of this story forward and we see them dealing with some sensitive themes such as religion, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and miscarriages, which Kiran handles with care and grace.

Another 5🌟 read, can't wait to see what Kiran writes next

Full review will be on my blog from 11th May 2022.

THE DANCE TREE has Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s incredibly beautiful prose, with gorgeous descriptions that flow so easily it’s impossible to put down. This book stands out because there is so much personal experience packed into the tale. The author has been very open with her family’s struggles with pregnancy loss, and that’s a key part of Lisbet’s story. Lisbet’s miscarriages are a hugely significant part of her life and it influences her every day. It’s heartbreaking to read the way she’s forced to grieve silently for her lost children, and it’s so clear that Kiran Millwood Hargrave here is writing her experiences into Lisbet’s life. It makes for a powerful read, emotional and raw, and I could feel Lisbet’s fear and stress as she spends the book more heavily pregnant than she’s ever been before.

I said with THE MERCIES that I loved how character-driven it was, and the same is true of THE DANCE TREE. We have Lisbet, our main character; Agnethe, her newfound sister-in-law; Ida, her best friend; Eren, the musician brought in to help with the dancing plague; and Sophey, the mother-in-law I ended up loving far more than I expected. I fell in love with each and every one of these characters and their relationships, but my favourites were Lisbet and Agnethe. They’ve never met, with Lisbet and Henne marrying after Agnethe was sent away for seven years of penitence, but from the first day they find a sense of kinship and loyalty. I loved the way they behaved together and their conversations, even when they had quiet moments eating side-by-side, I was utterly invested. Between that, and Lisbet and Ida’s close friendship, this book felt like it was celebrating female friendship in its rawest form.

It becomes clear very early in the book that Agnethe’s ‘sin’ is loving another woman, though it takes Lisbet a lot longer to work it out. Agnethe’s story broke my heart. As a lesbian, I wanted so much for her, and there was a section where Agnethe talked about her love – and the way people called it a sin – that made me highlight practically everything she said for several pages. I felt seen in ways I didn’t expect, and every stolen moment of joy that Agnethe found called to every time I’ve talked around my sexuality in my life.

THE DANCE TREE is set against the backdrop of the dancing plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, with brief biographies of the dancing women threaded throughout, but it wasn’t a huge part of the plot really. It was very much focused on Lisbet’s life and her family, but the discussion of the dancing plague felt very carefully researched and well-described. I wasn’t that interested in the short chapters about the other women, so invested in Lisbet’s story, but it did add context to the plague. The whole setting was obviously lovingly researched, and everything from the way that Lisbet handled the bees (rosemary smoke, brilliant) to the intense religious pressure felt by everyone felt like it was authentic and well handled.

The religious trauma in this book is huge, as oppressive and significant as it would have been in Lisbet’s life. Alef Plater – the new Absalom fucking Cornet – is a man power-mad and certain that he speaks the word of god. I hated him. I hated what he stood for, and everything he did, and every time he appeared I felt my stomach drop in the same way I’m sure Lisbet and Agnethe did when they heard his voice.

I absolutely sobbed at the end of this book. It was such a beautiful ending, though it absolutely broke my heart. I might have wanted a slightly different ending, but that was the ending we needed. It was the right ending for the characters, for their arc, and I can’t fault it. But I am very fragile and very gay. I read this all in one long burst, staying in bed until I’d finished it (and afterwards, as I cried all over the cat). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve loved many of Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s books but this? This is the best yet and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

(Not publishing this review elsewhere)

I really couldn’t get into this book and DNF’d. It’s written in an overly complex writing style, which just wasn’t an enjoyable experience for me. The plot actually sounds really good and I’m disappointed I couldn’t get to that part, but I just found it to be exhausting.

I loved Karin Millwood Hargreaves’s previous novel The Mercies so I was excited to read The Dane Tree. I knew nothing about the Dancing ‘plague’ and found this element of the story very interesting. Unfortunately I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and thus I have only awarded 3 stars.

In 'The Dance Tree' Kiran Millwood Hargrave presents a fictional account of the dancing plague that occurred in Strasbourg in 1518. Told from the perspective of Lisbet Wiler, Hargrave presents a deeply moving and engaging portrait of how a pressure cooker of religious leadership, drought/famine, poverty, misogamy and racism can contribute to people experiencing 'abandonments', where they become consumed by fervours/passions that may result in their deaths. Combining this story, with Hargrave's personal experience of pregnancy loss, and the parallel experiences of people in the LGBT+ community, results in a many layered novel, that was both a heart breaking and enjoyable to read. All of the characters have hidden depths, with both flaws and virtues that might not be apparent initially, and whilst the novel is based on real events, this doesn't lessen Hargrave's story telling power.

Strasbourg, 1518. A heatwave has the city and surrounding countryside in its grip. Lisbet is pregnant with her thirteenth child, but suffers from her twelve miscarriages before; will this baby live?
Her husband is called away to answer to the city council about their bee keeping, and her sister-in-law returns from seven years of penance in the mountains, but there is history between Agnethe and Lisbets best friend Ida.

This is a story consisting of so many parts, pregnancy loss, LGBT historical fiction, patriarchal/religious influence and belief systems, forbidden love (in more than one sense), all centered around the dancing plague that afflicted Strasbourg women for two months, some dying from the constant dancing.

It's a beautifully written story, I love the way Kiran Millwood Hargrave writes - The Mercies was a revelation to me a few years ago, but I do feel like the plot suffers slightly from it. Or maybe it's just that it moves very very slowly, and the reader is kept guessing as to why Agnethe was banished.

The last quarter of this book is so good though, we get lots of emotional scenes, combined with some high stake drama and it is hard not to feel for the characters and what they have to go through.

I didn't expect to love the bee keeping part as much as I did (I'm scared of bees) but it was written with such calm and serenity, that I felt as much at peace and connected to them, as Lisbet does 🐝

I think this is also the first time I've seen my name in an English book, so there's that, haha!

A touching and beautifully realised account, a story born from the seed of facts about the dancing plague and woven delicately and touchingly around a group of women that struggle with the conventions of the time and the straitjacketed roles they were expected to play in 1500s Strasbourg.

Lisbet and Agnethe form a new friendship when Agnethe returns from a penance which has meant she has been away for many years. Lisbet is a dreamy other-worldly character whose eyes are gradually opened to the injustices around her. She realises her longing for a baby that has followed her through long years of loss, and she demonstrates her strength and resilience as she faces the challenges of her world.

It is a heartbreaking and inspiring story that kept me enthralled throughout.

This is a book that was trying to accomplish an awful lot. A historical setting into an incredibly complex time and place with seismic events happening such as extreme weather, immense poverty, a controlling governmental system, and the looming threat of invasion and war. Threads woven through the story of relationships that are forbidden, familial relationships bearing grief and heartbreak, and marriages founded on lies. Then there is a deeply personal story echoing Hargrave's own, examining the loss of pregnancies and medieval religiosity forming deep-seated blame and guilt.

I felt that in many ways the book dealt with these themes really well. The complexity of the issues and the context of the society with all its ignorance, prejudice and religious fanaticism are explored in depth. The personal pain and grief from different characters were vivid.

However, I felt that the efforts to explore so much in terms of massive themes were at the expense of characterisation and plot. For me, all the characters ended up feeling like chess pieces being moved around and manipulated just to achieve the thematic goals. I didn't feel they were very well-fleshed out, despite the hardships they went through. The tropes felt a little tired and overused.

As always Hargreaves's writing is beautiful and I loved the allegory of the bees and how the theme of dancing created nuances and depth to the storyline.

Her historical research as always is impeccable and enlightening and I loved learning more about this strange phenomena.

But the novel was written with pacy, plotdriven structure and that was sadly what let it down for me. The story just felt too contrived and constructed and I struggled to journey with the characters.

With thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Ive read a lot of this authors books and i enjoy the way she writes and how often her stories focus on the lives on woman and girls and with magic and supernatural elements as in this book i dont think ive read a book about the dancing plague before and the perspective was original and the main woman characters were sympathetic and interesting this is perhaps a bit darker than some of her stories but if you the mercies or the girl of ink and starrs and liked them than i would say you will like this one as well