The Gifts

Starred review from February 27, 2023
Hyder’s remarkable adult debut (after the YA novel Bearmouth) involves the discovery of winged women in 1840 England. London surgeon Edward Meake has invested heavily in his medical practice, but hasn’t achieved the fame or wealth he thinks he deserves. When a boatman pulls a winged female corpse from the Thames, Edward, believing the woman is proof that angels exist, pays the man for the body, which he spirits into his basement lab. Then he runs across two more women with wings, both of them very much alive. Driven by divine mission and professional ambition, he imprisons them and plans to make his name with a lecture and a public reveal of his specimens. Meanwhile, the women, an amateur botanist and a gifted Scottish storyteller, discuss their metamorphoses and ideas for possible escape; Edward’s wife grows alarmed by Edward’s increasing paranoia and secrecy, and aspiring writer Mary Ward catches rumors about the “Angel of the Thames” and pursues the story to a dramatic end. Hyder skillfully juggles the many threads, never slowing the momentum of her propulsive plot, and by blending realistic and fantastic elements, she perfectly captures the era’s uneasy attempts to marry faith and science. This memorable outing has special appeal for fans of fantasy-inflected historicals such as Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent.

June 10, 2024

Restrictive gender roles of the 1840s clip women's wings figuratively and literally in this historical novel with elements of magic, the first adult novel from the author of Bearmouth. Narrator Tuppence Middleton offers distinct, character-appropriate voices to engage listeners, from a lord's sneer as he disinherits his half-sister for being mixed-race to Orkney Islands brogue. The characters themselves bear a strong resemblance to the clever, brave sisters and wicked husband featured in a tale told by one winged woman, and the miraculous appearance of wings itself has a folkloric quality. Etta, the disinherited sister and an aspiring naturalist, and Natalya, the storyteller, are held captive by an obsessed (wicked) surgeon determined to claim credit for this proof of angels. Also here, chafing against societal expectations for Victorian women, are an amateur journalist following up a lead on "the Angel of the Thames" and the surgeon's neglected and deceived wife, her artistic talent quashed by his ambition. Why these two did not grow wings or whether the "gift" of flight kept appearing across the UK or the world remains unexplored. VERDICT Empowerment for some, just deserts for others, makes for satisfying if uncomplicated listening. An excellent pick for fans of Naomi Novik.--Lauren Kage

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