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Century signs Arden's 'powerful' First World War novel
Century has signed Katherine Arden’s "powerful" historical fiction novel, The Warm Hands of Ghosts, set during the First World War with elements of magical realism.
Publisher Selina Walker acquired British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Paul Lucas at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. The novel will be published in the UK on 28th March 2024 and on the 13th February 2024 in international and export markets.
Arden is also known for The Bear and the Nightingale (Cornerstone), the first in the Winternight trilogy. The Warm Hands of Ghosts follows the relationship between Laura and Freddie, brother and sister, during the First World War.
"When Freddie is missing in action, Laura hopes to find him while working at a field hospital on the Front Line," the synopsis says. "But Freddie has been buried alive with a German soldier and the two men save each other’s lives and form an indelible bond, but once they have dug themselves out of their muddy grave, they realise there is no safety above ground, nowhere they can go where they won’t be shot on sight as enemy soldiers or deserters. There, in no man’s land, they meet a mysterious man known as ’The Fiddler’ who robs men of their memories, both the good and the terrible, in exchange for shelter. But if Freddie can’t remember Laura, how will the loving siblings ever find their way back to each other?"
Arden commented: "I am proud and a little stunned to see The Warm Hands of Ghosts on its journey to publication. It took me four years and a million words to get here. I very much hope that the world of this book and its characters come to mean something to readers, as they have meant so much to me."
Walker added: "I have always been a big admirer of the tragic poetry and literature of the First World War, and Katherine has written a novel that adds beautifully to this rich history. But the patterning and texture of magic and the themes of enchantment that pervades this novel is hugely distinctive and very much Katherine’s own."
