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The Witch Haven

Pages
448
Published
2021
Language
English

Synopsis

A New York Times Bestseller The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this “spectacular, singular, and spellbinding” (Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue) historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards. In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there. Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother. Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?

About the author

S
Sasha Peyton Smith

Sasha Peyton Smith is an American author of young-adult fantasy who studied biology and public health at the University of Utah and George Washington University. Her New York Times-bestselling debut, The Witch Haven, was inspired by her grandmother's stay at a tuberculosis sanitarium and imagines such an institution as a front for a school of witches; it was followed by The Witch Hunt and The Rose Bargain. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives in Washington,...

Characters

Frances HallowellProtagonist
FinnSupporting
All characters in The Witch Haven

Frequently asked questions

  • Is this book part of a series?

    This book is the first installment in a two-part series that concludes with the sequel, The Witch Hunt.

  • Can I read this book as a standalone?

    The narrative arc is designed to be read in sequence with its sequel, as the events and character developments in the second book directly follow the conclusion of this story.