A lush, feminist re-imagining on what happened to Wendy after Neverland, for fans of Circe and The Mere Wife.
LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
Find the second star from the right, and fly straight on ’til morning, all the way to Neverland, a children’s paradise with no rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests – all led by the charismatic boy who will never grow old.
But Wendy Darling grew up. She has a husband and a young daughter called Jane, a life in London. But one night, after all these years, Peter Pan returns. Wendy finds him outside her daughter’s window, looking to claim a new mother for his Lost Boys. But instead of Wendy, he takes Jane.
Now a grown woman, a mother, a patient and a survivor, Wendy must follow Peter back to Neverland to rescue her daughter and finally face the darkness at the heart of the island…
"Richly imagined, surprisingly dark, and heartbreakingly beautiful" Marian Womack, author of The Swimmers
"A dark and delightful retelling of Peter Pan. Wendy, Darling is a gorgeous achievement, and one you don't want to miss." Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Boneset & Feathers
"Neverland is more nightmare than dream... This rich tale of memory and magic is sure to resonate with fans of reimagined children’s stories." Publishers Weekly
"It's the horror-tinged feminist Peter Pan retelling I never knew I needed... a brilliant re-imagining of a classic boy's club story." Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, author of 'Mantles' and 'Entanglement'
"A gorgeously imagined journey into the unfathomable depths of childhood myth." Kelly Robson, author of Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach
Praise for Catfish Lullaby
"This luscious, unsettling Louisiana horror novella from Wise boasts a contemporary, living-folklore aesthetic… visceral language conveys an experience of eerie magic that simultaneously lures and repels." Publishers Weekly, starred review
“With a potent atmosphere, a formidable antagonist, and well-drawn, unforgettable characters, this book has definitely got it all. An absolute must-read." Gwendolyn Kiste, author of The Rust Maidens
"Catfish Lullaby seamlessly combines Southern folklore with cosmic horror. There's an elegiac undertone to this lullaby that's as deep and mysterious as the bayou where it takes place." Craig Laurance Gidney, author of A Spectral Hue
A.C. Wise is the author of Hooked and the bestselling Wendy, Darling. She also has two short story collections published by Lethe Press, Catfish Lullaby, a novella published by Broken Eye Books (2019), and The Ghost Sequences, a short story collection published by Undertow Books (2021), which was shortlisted for a 2021 Bram Stoker Award.
Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice being a finalist for the Nebula Award, twice being a finalist for the Sunburst Award, and being a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards. In addition to her fiction, she contributes semi-regular review columns to The Book Smugglers and Apex Magazine. Originally from Canada, she now lives in Pennsylvania, US.
A lush, feminist re-imagining on what happened to Wendy after Neverland, for fans of Circe and The Mere Wife.
LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
Find the second star from the right, and fly straight on ’til morning, all the way to Neverland, a children’s paradise with no rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests – all led by the charismatic boy who will never grow old.
But Wendy Darling grew up. She has a husband and a young daughter called Jane, a life in London. But one night, after all these years, Peter Pan returns. Wendy finds him outside her daughter’s window, looking to claim a new mother for his Lost Boys. But instead of Wendy, he takes Jane.
Now a grown woman, a mother, a patient and a survivor, Wendy must follow Peter back to Neverland to rescue her daughter and finally face the darkness at the heart of the island…
Reviews
"Richly imagined, surprisingly dark, and heartbreakingly beautiful" Marian Womack, author of The Swimmers
"A dark and delightful retelling of Peter Pan. Wendy, Darling is a gorgeous achievement, and one you don't want to miss." Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Boneset & Feathers
"Neverland is more nightmare than dream... This rich tale of memory and magic is sure to resonate with fans of reimagined children’s stories." Publishers Weekly
"It's the horror-tinged feminist Peter Pan retelling I never knew I needed... a brilliant re-imagining of a classic boy's club story." Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, author of 'Mantles' and 'Entanglement'
"A gorgeously imagined journey into the unfathomable depths of childhood myth." Kelly Robson, author of Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach
Praise for Catfish Lullaby
"This luscious, unsettling Louisiana horror novella from Wise boasts a contemporary, living-folklore aesthetic… visceral language conveys an experience of eerie magic that simultaneously lures and repels." Publishers Weekly, starred review
“With a potent atmosphere, a formidable antagonist, and well-drawn, unforgettable characters, this book has definitely got it all. An absolute must-read." Gwendolyn Kiste, author of The Rust Maidens
"Catfish Lullaby seamlessly combines Southern folklore with cosmic horror. There's an elegiac undertone to this lullaby that's as deep and mysterious as the bayou where it takes place." Craig Laurance Gidney, author of A Spectral Hue
Author
A.C. Wise is the author of Hooked and the bestselling Wendy, Darling. She also has two short story collections published by Lethe Press, Catfish Lullaby, a novella published by Broken Eye Books (2019), and The Ghost Sequences, a short story collection published by Undertow Books (2021), which was shortlisted for a 2021 Bram Stoker Award.
Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice being a finalist for the Nebula Award, twice being a finalist for the Sunburst Award, and being a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards. In addition to her fiction, she contributes semi-regular review columns to The Book Smugglers and Apex Magazine. Originally from Canada, she now lives in Pennsylvania, US.
