The Wild Mother

More about the book

Enter the world of a modern fairytale that blends bold biblical midrash with psychological depth and imaginative originality. This classic feminist novel, first released in 1993, remains fresh and timeless. Adam Underwood and Eva Brooke seem perfect for each other: both are single parents and academics—he a charismatic professor of alchemy, she a dedicated professor of fairytales. Their children, Ionia and Fred, share a latchkey after school with Eva's son, Jason. However, despite their compatibility, Eva is left wondering why they haven't married. Struggling with her own pathologically polite nature, she hesitates to ask personal questions, particularly about Adam's children's absent mother, a topic never mentioned by Adam or his outspoken mother, Ursula. Yet, Eva senses the missing woman in Ionia's haunting eyes and her drawings of a wild woman. One night, the wild mother, Lilith, returns, shattering their precarious status quo. As chaos ensues, Adam, obsessed with control, attempts to confine them all. Each character faces a crucial choice: will they embrace their own wildness and the freedom it entails, or will they deny it, risking everything they hold dear?