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  • Published: 13 August 2024
  • ISBN: 9781761347009
  • Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $32.99

Winter of the Wolf




Inspired by a notorious werewolf trial, blending history with paranormal and feminist themes, and with a moving queer romance at its core, this is an unmissable Australian debut.

Eastern France. Winter. 1572.

When Sidonie’s guardian dies, she flees Paris rather than submit to a forced marriage, seeking sanctuary in the home of her estranged aunt in Dole.

A town consumed by fear and superstition.

Apolline left behind a violent and troubled past, hoping for a new life with her husband, where she can sell her herbs and assist women from the privacy of her forest home. But it is dangerous to be different, and as Sidonie and Apolline’s lives become intertwined, they are soon both being hunted.

The hunt for a werewolf.

Aspiring witch hunter Pierre is drawn to Dole amid rumours of a werewolf hunting children. Desperate for respect and power, he allies himself with a priest who is fanning the flames of fear and hatred.

Set in a time when women’s lives were not their own, and to be different was to be suspect, Winter of the Wolf is a sweeping tale of family secrets, betrayal and the abuse of power, the redeeming power of friendship, and finding your true home.

  • Published: 13 August 2024
  • ISBN: 9781761347009
  • Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Amanda Willimott

Amanda Willimott writes historical fiction centring the experiences of women.

She has always been captivated by history, mythology and folklore, which led to her pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History and Anthropology with Honours in Anthropology, where she wrote her thesis on witchcraft and paganism.

Her first novel, Winter of the Wolf, is based on a real werewolf trial that took place in eastern France in the winter of 1572-1573.

When she’s not researching, writing or editing, you can find her singing popular show tunes, reading from or adding to her to-read pile of books, or trying to find gluten-free bread that tastes like real bread.

Amanda lives in Melbourne, Australia with a large, co-dependent rescue tabby named Titus.

Praise for Winter of the Wolf

Impeccably researched and beautifully written, Winter of the Wolf is a captivating story of murder, love and found families inspired by the true story of the werewolf and witch trials of 16th century France. At its heart is the story of the unbreakable bond formed by two young women, each facing heartbreak and horror as they seek to solve the mystery of who - or what - is killing children in the forest. Amanda Willimott is a talent to watch!

Kate Forsyth

Amanda Willimott expertly captures a sense of time and place in this atmospheric fable that reframes the witch and werewolf hysteria of late medieval France.

Paula Weston