Why read The Dance Tree?

Book cover of The Dance Tree

Book description

Set in an era of superstition and hysteria, and inspired by the true events of a doomed summer, The Dance Tree is a story of family secrets, forbidden love, and women pushed to the edge. The gripping, historical novel from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, as seen on BBC Two's Between the…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Dance Tree as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Julia Stone

Author

While I don’t usually read historic novels, I selected this book because it was loosely based around a bizarre true event that happened in 1518, when women in Europe danced manically, not stopping to rest even when their feet bled.

I was intrigued to find out how the author would spin this into a novel. The story took me to places and times I knew nothing about, and the world was so richly described I could imagine the events and the people in their day-to-day lives witnessing these strange spectacles.

At its heart, a tragic story which will touch many…

From Julia's 3 favorite reads in 2023.