Today’s review is about THE WITCH BELOW THE DREAMING WOOD by H.G. Parry. This is a standalone Arthurian novel with a dual setting between Camelot and in World War II Wales. This is a wonderful addition to the Arthurian retellings subgenre.

Author: H.G. Parry
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Publish Date: July 21, 2026
Print Length: 448

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The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood Synopsis

The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood Book Review

I received a free, digital, advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is my own and reflects my honest opinion about this book.

THE WITCH BELOW THE DREAMING WOOD is an Arthurian retelling that oscillates between the time of Camelot and WWII. All over the world people start having dreams about King Arthur as the world war continues on. Ellie, a librarian at the British Museum, has never had a dream about Arthur. She attributes this phenomenon to the stress of the war affecting people’s psyche. One day during the London Blitz, Ellie’s supervisor sends her to coastal Wales to catalogue a private library. Disgruntled to have to leave her work in London, once in Wales she begins to have Arthurian dreams. Only instead of Arthur, she dreams of Nimue and the threat of darkness closing in.

While sixth century Camelot and 1941 Wales might not seem like an obvious pairing, H.G. Parry meshes these two time periods together well. Both settings are atmospheric and the writing style doesn’t bog down the reader or pace with unnecessary flowery metaphors. The story is easy to settle into since WWII is still within recent memory. So it is not a huge mental hurdle to have a general idea of the omnipresent danger and unhinged leaders of the Axis powers and the strain on society’s collective psyche.

I loved how Parry uses dreams to show Nimue’s point of view and role in Arthurian legend. The predominant theme of this book is that of fate and whether it truly is preordained or a result of nurture. In Parry’s retelling, Morgan Le Fay is the Lady of the Lake. She raises Lancelot, her nephew Mordred, and her daughter Nimue beneath the lake. Due to some history between Merlin, Arthur, Morgause, and Morgan, these children grow up knowing that their fate is to cause the downfall of Arthur. This raises the major question of whether one can shake free of this fate. Parry uses various plot devices to test this philosophical question. These include magic-induced amnesia with Lancelot, inner philosophical questioning within Nimue, and using fate as an excuse to cover one’s true nature in Mordred.

THE WITCH BELOW THE DREAMING WOOD also questions the strain of living up to the ideal of a perfect society. Camelot is where chivalry reigns supreme and everyone must follow the law to have order and peace. While this idea sounds simple enough, it highlights how difficult this is to uphold. Ellie’s dreams of Nimue show the cracks in Arthur’s Camelot deepening due to Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s barely veiled attraction to each other. And where there is a weakness there is always someone willing to exploit it.

In the present day, Ellie witnesses the quickening breakdown of the veil between the human world and that of magic. This creates a mystery that Ellie becomes ever more eager to figure out through her dreams. As the story progresses there is a feeling of hopelessness and overwhelm when all options seem bad. Everyone, past and present, has to do hard things, and reminds me of the famous dialogue exchanged between Frodo and Gandalf where Frodo wishes none of this had happened in his time. There are a lot of quotes in this vein that I highlighted near the end of the book as the climax of the book neared.

I think the most brilliant things about this book, though, is how Parry latched onto T.H. White’s concept that Merlin experiences time in reverse. I can’t really explain this in a review due to spoilers, but I loved how Parry ran with that. It makes everything so much more bittersweet.

Another major theme in this book is the evolution of stories. They change over time or based on who relays them, mean different things to different people, and may serve has propaganda to unite people during trying times. But at the end of the day they are stories that may or may not be true. Stories may induce such strong nostalgia that they hold people back from moving on, both individually and as a society. That holds true both in Arthur’s and Ellie’s times.

If you love Arthurian retellings, this one is absolutely worth a read. It’s an excellent addition to the dozens, if not hundreds, of Arthurian lore out in the world. This is probably one of my favorites.

Rating: 4.5
Content warnings: war, death, infidelity
Reading format: Kindle e-book

If you enjoyed this book, you may also enjoy PERILOUS TIMES by Thomas D. Lee and THE EVERLASTING by Alix E. Harrow. For additional thoughts on THE WITCH BELOW THE DREAMING WOOD, visit Biblio Nerd Reflections and Wicked Witch’s Blog.