# Read the first page of The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke Read the opening of The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke free, no signup. A young woman who speaks with animals walks a snowy winter wood. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/the-wood-at-midwinter-susanna-clarke - Genre: Fantasy - Year: 2024 - ISBN: 9781639734498 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9781639734498&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9781639734498 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9781639734498 ## The opening It was winter, just a few days before Christmas. A few flakes of snow fell on the quiet fields. Along the lane that led to the wood came a carriage, driven by a young woman. Her name was Ysolde Scot and her sister, Merowdis, sat at her side. It was a two-wheeled chaise, rather old fashioned and very much in need of a new coat of paint. In the back, two dogs and a russet-coloured pig were looking out at the passing scene with every evidence of enjoyment. The pig, whose name was Apple, was the subject of conversation. Merowdis was speaking. People would say later — people who remembered her — that her voice sounded young for her age, which was nineteen. It was a sweet, clear, childish voice, at odds with her long, pale, medieval face and plain way of dressing. 'Do you know what Papa said to me? He said, Oh, I know why you called it Apple — because of apple sauce! I didn't understand him at first.' 'He didn't!' said Ysolde. 'Oh, how dreadful! Oh, Apple,' she half turned towards the pig in the back of the carriage, 'I'm so sorry! Don't listen!' 'She's heard it before,' said Merowdis in a resigned sort of way. 'She's only too used to it.' It must be said that, indignant as the sisters were on her behalf, Apple herself did not seem in the least distressed. Merowdis and Ysolde's parents did not love Merowdis's animals: not the two dogs presently in the carriage, nor the other six at home. Not the pig, nor the impossible-to-pin-down number of cats. Nor the ferret. Nor the parrot. Nor the wild birds that flew in and out of the house and left their excrements on expensive furnishings. gathered in Merowdis’s bedroom and which Merowdis refused to let anyone disturb. ‘Poor Papa!’ said Ysolde. ‘He was trying, you see. He was doing his best to understand and be friends with you. Saints are difficult people to live with.’ ‘Saints!’ said Merowdis, rather alarmed at this. ‘I never thought of Papa as a saint before!’ ‘I meant you,’ said Ysolde. ‘Me!’ ‘You have visions. You can’t see any difference between animals and people. You can’t see any difference between spiders and people. And you’re really only happy when you’re in church. Or in a wood.’ ‘A church is a sort of wood,’ said Merowdis, musingly. ‘A wood is a sort of church. They’re the same thing really.’ ‘There!’ said Ysolde. ‘You see! You say saintly things like that. And no one has any idea what you’re talking about.’ The two horses, who knew this journey well, stopped at the wood-gate without any prompting from Ysolde. ## Books with a similar feel - [Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik](https://uncovered.ink/read/spinning-silver-naomi-novik.md) - [The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-fifth-season-n-k-jemisin.md) - [Wait for You by J. Lynn](https://uncovered.ink/read/wait-for-you-j-lynn.md) - [The Once Upon a Broken Heart Series by Stephanie Garber](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-once-upon-a-broken-heart-series-stephanie-garber.md) - [The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue-v-e-schwab.md) - [A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher](https://uncovered.ink/read/a-sorceress-comes-to-call-t-kingfisher.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.