Mary McMyne Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mary McMyne is a bestselling historical fantasy novelist that is best known for “The Book of Gothel,” her debut novel that came out in 2022.

Before then, she had published all manner of essays, poems, and short stories in different publications.

Some of the places where she has had her works published include Southern Humanities Review, Gulf Coast, Painted Bride Quarterly, Redivider, Apex Magazine, and Strange Horizons.

For her work, she has won a Fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center by the Arts Parent Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation grant, and a Novel in Progress Faulkner Wisdom Prize.

She made her debut as a poet when she wrote “Wolfskin,” the Elgin Chapbook Award-winning work in 2014.

She would then attend an MFA Program at New York University. Mary now has a job at Lake Superior State Univerity where she is a Creative Writing associate professor.

McMyne has said that folktales have always been something she has been obsessed with ever since she was a child. Growing up, her mother used to tell spooky bedtime stories about fairies and goblins that used to change the shadows in her room.

McMyne used to look forward to bedtime when she got to tell stories about Snow White, Cinderella, and Red Riding Hood even as she recited folk poetry from memory.
As she grew older, she began questioning the versions of stories she was told as many had passive heroines whose desires only came true because of a chance encounter with a passing prince or woodsman.

Over the years, she has been influenced by many books even though the most significant have been myths, folktales, and epic retellings.

She has always been fascinated by the retelling of “Beowulf” from the villain’s perspective. What has always fascinated her has been the use of the lead’s voice in exploring the religious complexities of the epic poem.

Another significant influence was the use of real-world documents in the retelling of the “Snow White” story by Donald Barthelme.

Mary McMyne started writing “The Book of Gothel” her debut novel in 2011 following her move to Sault Sainte Marie. At this time, she used to spend a lot of time walking and exploring the Eastern Upper Peninsula, particularly the deep dark woods.

She had then just started as a creative writing professor at Lake Superior State University and had a child that she had begun reading fairy tales to. Her wish to have more female-led characters began getting stronger at this time.

Her novel was thus an attempt to correct what she believed was a dearth of active female leads in our favorite tales. As such, she imagined what it would have been for a woman to be immersed in the historical events of the 12 century.

She inserted historical characters such as St Hildegard of Bingen, Beatrice of Burgundy, and Fredrick Barbarossa the Holy Roman Emperor to make for a compelling retelling.

In 2014, she got to walk in the footsteps of her characters as she traveled across Germany in the Black Forest and visited the city museums researching her novel.

McMyne currently makes her home in Florida where she lives with her family. When she is not writing her bestselling novels or reading she can usually be found trying to make medieval recipes with her daughter.

Sometimes she can be found hiking the mountains with Maldwyn her dog, binge-watching crime TV, and playing board games with her family. Some of her favorite things in the world are folktales, illuminated scripts, gluhwein, book art, and grimoires.

Mary McMyne’s novel “The Book of Gothel” is a magical retelling of one of the most popular stories in the tale of Rapunzel in the tower.

Haelewise has always lived under Hedda her mother who only thinks of her daughter’s safety and practically suffocates her. With her strange fainting spells and black eyes, her medieval village shuns her and she finds solace in a very familiar place.

She often looks forward to the many folktales her mother tells of princes in wolf skins, child-stealing witches, and an ancient tower, where one could find shelter if they are bold enough to find it.

When her mother dies, Haelewise is devastated and believes there is nothing more for her in the village and leaves to go find the ancient tower. It is in Gothel where she meets a wise woman who offers to take her under her wing.

But it happens that she is not the only one seeking refuge there as she will be living with Rikka. She is a girl that has knowledge of a secret the church has been hiding for years.

The secret could unlock a dark world of murderous nobles and ancient spells more powerful than anything.