His second book, which he’s writing now, will also be set in Bristol, this time during the St Pauls riot of 1980. “But after that I won’t write about Bristol in a novel again. I don’t want to be ‘a Bristol writer’. I intend to write until I die.” Andrews, by the end, makes the reader care deeply for every one of her characters, and particularly, to brings us understand the difficulties and struggles, the moral dilemmas, faced by Thomas Treadwater – who often is desperately, and sometimes actually, doing just that. The opening chapter of this book sent chills up my spine; the established tone was so menacing and it was clear I was in for a treat. I started with Ruth. I always had her; I’d had her in my mind as a character for years and I had [the book taking place] over a much larger span of time, and then the more I thought about it, the more I thought so many decisions come down to one day and those moments that look like ordinary moments. And then I thought, I need another character and I want a teenager. I wanted that idea of different points in our lives. What I love about historical fiction (and beautifully expressed here) is that through the creation of believable characters, as subtly three dimensional as all of us are, as twined with oppositions, but deeply embedded in a specific time, culture, place, the reader is taken into engaging with what it actively might feel like, to feel and think this or that.

The Leviathan: A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and The Leviathan: A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and

Infused with creepy gothic dread and gorgeously written. Fantastic' Amy McCulloch, author of BREATHLESS This debut novel from Rosie Andrews will sit nicely alongside Sarah Perry, Diane Setterfield and Anna Mazolla. It takes place, mainly, in Norfolk, in 1643, in a time when witch-hunts and religious fervour was at its height. The Witchfinder General was roaming far and wide to try and condemn so-called witches. Thomas Treadwater, fresh from the civil war, is called home by a letter from his sister, accusing a servant of bewitching their father. Upon arrival he finds his father dying, having suffered (we assume) a stroke and the "witch" in prison.A sinister, twisting tale, thoroughly gripping and utterly absorbing' Jennifer Saint, author of ARIADNE One Hundred Years of Solitude. I’m researching my third novel at the moment. I really like magical realism so I had to go to the source. AC Jo Browning Wroe

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews | Goodreads

This powerful debut novel by Rosie Andrews is compelling as it is unique; set apart from other recent explorations witchcraft in the current literary trend, the twists and turns in the plot keep you on your toes throughout. There is a richness of language and description within this novel which retains its natural conversation throughout, completely hooking you into Thomas' narrative. A novel of witchcraft, supernatural overtones and a man determined to avenge his family, a woman accused of witchcraft. However, what he finds out in the meantime may well break him. One of the big influences on this book is Edmund White’s Nocturnes for the King of Naples, which is written with the same narrative framing. Also, Olivia Laing’s Crudo, which was liberating, and Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. I love how that book moves between violence and tenderness and how she modulates between a real world and a magical world so effortlessly. Darkly compelling and dripping with atmosphere, The Leviathan is a bewitching tale of good, evil and all the shades in-between I remember being on the estate when I was maybe six, seven, eight and I had a neighbour called Winnie, who would buy me exercise books to write stories in. Also, my mother just read all the time – she never watched television [and so] I didn’t watch television myself until I went to college. I read whatever she was reading. Shakespeare and Tolkien and Terry Pratchett.Bocas lit fest, 100%. It’s a literary festival in Trinidad-Tobago that happens every year. It’s run by Nicholas Laughlin and Marina Salandy-Brown and a small but very dedicated team. Just seeing writers up close and hearing them talk about how they wrote and what their process was and how they got published… That was a really big deal. ROSIE: I think great historical fiction shows an empathetic insight into its time period. The best writers of this sort of fiction let go of modern assumptions and demands, and understand their subjects as both very different and very similar to us, and just as diverse in their beliefs. It’s amazing and terrible. I’m interested in how it changes us. We’re so reptilian. You could just look me up and know everything about me but you’re sitting there pretending that you don’t know anything about me. We all do it, but we don’t talk about it. I’m fascinated by what that distortion does to your brain, when you know too much and have to pretend you don’t. This is set primarily in the 1643/1644, in Norfolk, but also, in 1703, ‘A Place Far From The Sea’ The significance of this somewhat odd information becomes clear later, though it is the book’s beginning The imagined role of Milton in this story is brilliant. His writings are both evidence of fact, deep philosophical thinking, grappling with knotty concepts – and of course rich, rich in metaphor, imagination, and matters apocryphal. Fantasical and rational, both. Within the concept of a mysterious, ancient, horrific mythological beast of destruction that inhabits the depths of the oceans, concepts of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ – and, a central plank of Judao-Christian thinking – free will – are entwined

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews | Waterstones

A brilliant debut character-driven novel that had my all attention for a couple of days and that will stay with me for a long time. The plot is as surprising and sinuously twisting as the legendary sea monster of its title … More than just an entertaining fantasy, the novel offers a lesson about the importance of accepting responsibility Not at all. If someone like Sayon sees violence everywhere he looks, perpetrating it is normal. Rather than punishing someone, it makes more sense to rehabilitate them. For most of the story the police are absent: the book isn’t about the punishment other humans can give, it’s about whether God will punish us. In self-governed places, there are often no consequences. I’ve seen people do crazy things and get away with it. It won’t make the news, it won’t make any noise whatsoever. The worst thing is when nothing comes. It’s so defeating and so discouraging. You just have to allow yourself to hear your characters – don’t decide what they’re going to say beforehand, let them tell you what happened to them.The Leviathan is a stunningly woven debut novel that is more than just a pretty cover (though it undoubtedly has this too!).

The Leviathan (Audio Download): Rosie Andrews, Rupert Farley

Luring us into its ugliest depths with killer comic timing, the fractured narrative unfolds as a series of vitriolic salvos on sex, race and the internet. Some debut novels are spectacular and in my opinion The Leviathan belongs to this category. The Author set the bar high for herself regarding future books. What is it about Norfolk in this period in history which made it the perfect setting for The Leviathan? The Leviathan takes place at the beginning of the eventful national mayhem and is a sweeping tale that encompasses all that went wrong & was wrong within English society at the time.A well written book, and great charactors that draw you into the story. I think this would make a great film. Wroe lives in Cambridge and worked in publishing before taking an MA in creative writing at UEA in 2000. Since then she has been teaching, editing and “learning my craft… It’s just taken this long, it really has, and I’ve loved the process.” With a deeply gothic ambiance, the plot is intriguing. This is a unique narrative that has been expertly told.