Published 1st August 2024 by Headline Review.
From the cover of the book:
These waters became wild centuries before this university was dreamed of. Leysham has always been a dangerous place for women . . .Serena arrives on campus reeling from the injury that destroyed her champion swimming career. She is lost until she meets Jane, an enigmatic tutor obsessed with the historic witch trials that took place in Leysham's freezing waters.
When several young women are assaulted, the university's shadowy legacy becomes inescapable. Those in power turn a blind eye, but Jane urges Serena and her friends to rise up. As their anger builds into an inferno of female rage, Serena takes matters into her own hands.
Leysham has reawakened something within her, a dark, impossible power. In the waters, she can see what must be done - and the sacrifice it will demand.
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Reeling from the accident that finished her career as a championship swimmer, Serena arrives at the prestigious university of Leysham to study history. Used to total dedication to the world of swimming, and now two years older than her contemporaries, Serena does not know how to fit in to the student scene, and her awkwardness makes her feel like an outsider.
One night, while drawn to the treacherous waters of the Leysham river that runs through the grounds, an incident brings her into close contact with the enigmatic tutor, Jane. A bond is formed in that frozen darkness, and Serena becomes consumed by Jane's obsession with the stories of the women drowned in the water as part of historic, vengeful witch trials.
When stories of young women being assaulted at Leysham begin to spread, Serena gets caught up in the campaign for the university authorities to take female safety seriously, spearheaded by her popular cousin Zara, a body positive influencer who is also studying at Leysham. Urged on by Jane's passionate drive for justice, anger amongst the female students rises to fever pitch, and in response, Serena feels a stirring of dark power. A sacrifice is demanded, and Serena knows just what to do...
The Drownings is an ambitious novel, and I have to tip my hat at Hazel Barkworth for the way she incorporates so many luscious storylines about patriarchal control, violence against women, consent, privilege, and the power of female rage - particularly in the way she blends age-old themes with bang-up-to date topics.
Against an atmospheric dark academia setting, Barkworth weaves an eerie tale with roots in the history of women drowned as witches in the river that runs through the campus. Leysham is an ancient university that honours the gods of money and tradition more than it does the well-being of its female students and colleagues, and when concerns about safety are brushed under the carpet something sparks between the characters that make up the author's modern 'witches, setting in motion a course of events that ends in tragedy.
The story unfurls in the present, through Serena's eyes, and in the past as she relives moments from the gruelling high pressure world of competitive swimming. Barkworth goes on to use the motif of water with accomplished flair throughout to explore all manner of themes around transformation and power, and she links the past and present through the stories and experiences of Serena, Jane and Zara, who stand centre stage in a twist on the 'power of three'.
This works beautifully, with storylines that are compelling as they are tragically heart-breaking, and you find yourself torn between outrage at the timeless exploration of violence and injustice against women, and exhilaration at the way the female students find power in joining together to make their voices heard. Serena's coming-of-age, supernatural awakening is absolutely gripping too, subverting the academia trope into a novel that really gets under your skin.
I think there are moments when Barkworth strays off the path of a darned good revenge story into the dubious delights of social media. She also tries a bit too hard to make attention-seeking Zara likeable, which seems out of place in a novel where much of the drama is motivated by jealousy and spite. But these are minor distractions in the grand, page-turning scheme of things.
This was a fascinating piece of literary fiction, and I have really only touched the surface of the depths Hazel Barkworth plunges in her story - pun intended. If you are looking for a book to get your teeth into for a reading group, then I highly recommend this as one as being full of thought-provoking themes that beg to be discussed.
The Drownings is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Headline for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
Hazel is a graduate of both the Oxford University MSt in Creative Writing and the Curtis Brown Creative Novel-Writing course.
She now works in Oxford, where she lives with her partner.
Her debut, Heatstroke, was published in 2020. The Drownings is her second novel.
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