The Witch Elm

The Witch Elm (also published as The Wych Elm) is a 2018 novel by Tana French. The novel is a standalone, not related to her Dublin Murder Squad novels.

The Witch Elm
First edition
AuthorTana French
PublisherViking Press
Publication date
9 October 2018
Pages509

Writing and development

French was motivated to write the novel as an exploration of the connection between luck and an individual's ability to feel empathy for others.[1] French was also inspired by Bella in the Wych Elm, an unidentified woman found in a wych elm in Hagley in the 1940s.[1] French does not find true crime any more recent than the Bella case interesting, partially due to the ongoing impacts on living people caused by more recent crimes.[2] To accurately depict the protagonist's experience after a traumatic event, French conducted research about PTSD.[3]

French was also motivated to write the novel due to an interest in exploring a crime from a perspective other than that of a detective, the primary viewpoint used in her Dublin Murder Squad novels.[4]

Reception

The novel received mostly positive reviews from critics.[5] American author Stephen King, in a review written for The New York Times, praised the novel as "extraordinary".[6]

References
  1. Shapiro, Lila (15 October 2018). "Tana French on The Witch Elm, #MeToo, and the Divisive Ending of In the Woods". Vulture. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  2. Clark, Alex (16 February 2019). "Tana French: 'Nobody with imagination should commit a crime. You wouldn't handle the stress'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  3. Canfield, David (5 October 2018). "Tana French on 'The Witch Elm' and why she loves writing mysteries". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. Schwartz, Alexandra (10 August 2019). "How Tana French Inhabits the Minds of Her Detectives". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  5. "Book Marks reviews of The Witch Elm by Tana French". Book Marks. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. King, Stephen (10 October 2018). "Stephen King Reviews Tana French's 'Extraordinary' New Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.


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