A tale in the tradition of Jane Eyre and Rebecca, in which a young woman follows her new husband to his remote home on the Icelandic coast in the 1680s, where she faces dark secrets surrounding the death of his first wife amidst a foreboding landscape and the superstitions of the local villagers
âHaunting, evocative and utterly compelling. The Glass Woman transports the reader to a time and place steeped in mystery, where nothing is ever quite as it seems. Stunning.â â Tracy Borman, author of The Kingâs Witch
âPiercingâŚ. Devastating and revelatory.â â New York Times Book Review
RĂłsa has always dreamed of living a simple life alongside her Mamma in their remote village in Iceland, where she prays to the Christian God aloud during the day, whispering enchantments to the old gods alone at night. But after her father dies abruptly and her Mamma becomes ill, RĂłsa marries herself off to a visiting trader in exchange for a dowry, despite rumors of mysterious circumstances surrounding his first wifeâs death.
She follows her new husband, JĂłn, across the treacherous countryside to his remote home near the sea. There JĂłn works the field during the day, expecting RĂłsa to maintain their house in his absence with the deference of a good Christian wife. What RĂłsa did not anticipate was the fierce loneliness she would feel in her new home, where JĂłn forbids her from interacting with the locals in the nearby settlement and barely speaks to her himself.
Seclusion from the outside world isnât the only troubling aspect of her new lifeâRĂłsa is also forbidden from going into JĂłnâs attic. When she begins to hear strange noises from upstairs, she turns to a local woman in an attempt to find solace, but the villagerâs words are even more troubling.
RĂłsaâs isolation begins to play tricks on her mind: Whatâor whoâis in the attic? What happened to Anna? Was she mad, a witch, or just a victim of JĂłnâs ruthless nature? And when JĂłn is brutally maimed in an accident a series of events are set in motion that will force RĂłsa to choose between obedience and defianceâwith her own survival and the safety of the ones she loves hanging in the balance.