Caught in the upset of a collapsing marriage, Jane Cooke, successful art historian working for a London gallery, escapes for a short break, destination picked at random. Thus begins The Way Through the Woods. 

Arriving in the remote village of Hollinthwaite, Jane soon meets the mysterious Lambert, living in the even remoter High Hollinthwaite on the edge of the woods of the title. She returns “home,” but is irresistibly drawn back to the magic of the place as the relationship between them blossoms into fantastic complexity. 

Closely interwoven with Jane’s story are two darkly erotic dream narratives, where the woods are experienced as a complex psychological landscape, with paths which lead unpredictably through the mind’s dark recesses to its dazzling outer limits. 

The climactic ending draws the three narratives sensationally together as the “way through the woods” is finally laid open to those who have reached the level of recognition.



About the Author

A.M. Parkinson teaches English and European Literature at the University of Bolton. He has numerous academic publishing credits including a book and several papers and articles mainly on the European Romantic movement. The Way Through the Woods is his first novel.