Author: H.G. ParryModern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)Published on 21 July 2026 by Little, Brown Book Group (Orbit) in the United Kingdom.Paperback | 448 pages127 x 198 x 30 | 308g 'This book feels as though I could have pulled it, dust-coated, from a half-forgotten shelf. A true feast of myth and wonder . . . I grinned, I cried, I didn't want to put it down and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished'Freya Marske, bestselling author of A Marvellous LightDive into an atmospheric and captivating historical fantasy where dreams come to life and Arthurian legends are reborn.Wales, 1941. As the second world war ravages the globe and bombs fall from the sky, people all over the world begin to dream of King Arthur. The dreams spread like a fantastical plague, flooding people's sleep night after night. Whispers arise of wonders and unexplained sights - dragons in the London Underground, and strange lights over Stonehenge. Self-proclaimed prophets claim they are miracles, heralding Arthur's return at the time of Britain's greatest need.??Elaine Ambrose has never dreamed of Arthur, and she doesn't believe in miracles. A librarian at the British Museum, she wants only to protect the museum's collection from the Blitz, and is frustrated to be sent instead to catalogue a reclusive professor's private library on the coast of North Wales. But all is not as it seems. Soon Ellie must confront what she's tried to ignore: she dreams not of Arthur, but of Nimue - the Lady of the Lake. And her dreams promise not salvation, but a return to the darkness of the last days of Camelot. ?'A dreamy, achingly beautiful tale about the power of stories. The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood imagines the magic and legend of the Arthurian age as a bright light, thrust into the darkness of World War II. Beautifully conceived and impossible to put down'Morgan Ryan, author of A RESISTANCE OF WITCHESReader reviews:'A lush and beautiful love letter to Arthurian myth, H. G. Parry's The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood is everything that I could have hoped for . . . I loved it' ?????'Beautiful, heartbreaking and magnetic' ?????'OFFICIALLY AN AUTO-READ AUTHOR NOW! . . . luminous, and magical' ?????'I cannot wait to see where H. G. Parry takes me next. At this point, I would happily follow her into any forest, any myth, any dream' ?????'Excellent. I don't think I've read an H. G. Parry book I didn't love and this one was no exception. Magical' ?????'A deeply beautiful and atmospheric five-star historical fantasy . . . a wonderful read' ?????'I am just in awe of H. G. Parry's talent and ability to craft such an emotionally moving story with an amazing setting and plot, and I just cannot describe how much I loved it' ?????
