Collected's TWELVE BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS 2025 | Mere - Danielle Giles

COLLECTED LOVES... A completely absorbing yet unsettling tale of a declining convent sitting on the edge of a mere, where seemingly everyone and everything has secrets - including the bog. The gorgeously folkloric feeling is undercut with the growing crisis of the convent featuring power strugggles and a moving sapphic love story. Giles brilliantly captures the stragneness of the past and the humanity that binds us across time.

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Norfolk, 990 AD.

Deep in the Fens, isolated by a vast and treacherous mere, an order of holy sisters make their home. Under the steely guidance of Abbess Sigeburg they follow God’s path, looking to their infirmarian, Hilda, to provide what comfort and cures she can. But when the mere takes a young servant boy, Sigeburg’s grip falters and Hilda quickly realizes this place holds secrets darker and more unholy than she can fathom.

Then proud Sister Wulfrun, a recent arrival to the convent, has a vision: a curse is upon them and change must be brought. Is she saint or serpent? To Hilda, Wulfrun is a signal bolder and brighter than any fire set – one she cannot help but follow...