Her Kind

'Gripping ... a story of loss, ambition, misogyny, family love and what it means to belong ... evocative and atmospheric' Irish Times 'Masterful ... Boyce delicately unfolds this atmospheric, magical thriller with pace and juice, while also making sure that the sentiments (vilification of women, policing of female biology) echo through time' Sunday Independent 1324, Kilkennie: A time of suspicion and conspiracy ... A place where zealous men rage against each other - and even more against uppity women A woman finds refuge with her daughter in the household of a childhood friend. The friend, Alice Kytler, gives her former companion a new name, Petronelle, a job as a servant, and warns her to hide their old connection. But in aligning herself with a powerful woman, Petronelle and her child are in more danger than they ever faced in the savage countryside ... Tense, moving and atmospheric Her Kind is vivid reimagining of the events leading to the Kilkenny Witch Trial. 'Shines a light on women who have been silenced. This tightly paced novel confirms Boyce as an important voice in Irish literature' Louise O'Neill 'Sings of these modern times' RTE Guide 'Pulls us into a world both seductively alien, yet uneasily, all-too-humanly, familiar' Mia Gallagher 'Beautifully written and transports us to the 14th century, though its themes loudly resonate today' Eileen Dunne, RTE.ie 'The plot is pacey and menacing, and the writing is clear, sharp and studded with glistening phrases ... a wonderful shout through time' Nuala O'Connor 'Beautifully absorbing ... highly recommended' Hot Press 'Niamh Boyce has taken a bleak and dismal period and sent a bolt of beautiful and revealing light into the darkness' John MacKenna 'Moving and atmospheric' Irish Country Magazine 'Enthralling' Irish Examiner Praise for The Herbalist: 'The most entertaining yet substantial historical novel since Joseph O'Connor's Star of the Sea' Irish Times 'An elegant morality tale about the inescapable strictures of women's lives ... Her publisher describes her as "a dazzling new voice". I cannot disagree' Sunday Times 'A serious new literary talent' TV3 'Comparisons to Edna O'Brien and Pat McCabe are more than justified. That said, Boyce has a unique voice and sensibility, one that's entirely her own' Image Magazine