The Western Wind

Product Information

Peter Phillips's reconstruction is taken from his programme notes for his recording Western Wind Masses: Taverner, Tye Sheppard, released 1993 on compact disc by Gimell Records, 454 927-2. It may just be that a singer read Westron wynde, liked the sentiment, and added his or her own version of the words into the existing version of The Pretty Cock, which was then passed on to other singers of the song. Near the end of Emma's pregnancy, she apparently shoots herself in the head in the middle of the night with Lizzy's shotgun. The anonymous song or poem simply known as ‘Westron Wynde’ (sometimes modernised as ‘Western Wind’) dates from the early sixteenth century, and the tune to which it was sung influenced a raft of English composers such as the Tudor John Taverner (not to be confused with the more recent composer, John Tavener). Historians [ citation needed] believe that the lyrics are a few hundred years older ('Middle English') and the words are a fragment of medieval poetry.

Against the grain, against the flow, even against my will as it were - albeit the story is finely executed, alive with fully drawn characters (especially its narrator) and giving deep insights into medieval thinking - "The Western Wind" simply did not do it for me. In an interview I read, she talks of having happened on her historical setting “by accident,” led by the theme she wanted to explore, that of confession. Her first novel, The Wilderness, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2009, longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize and won the 2009 Betty Trask Prize.

In Greek mythology, Zephyrus was the personification of the west wind and the bringer of light spring and early summer breezes; his Roman equivalent was Favonius (hence the adjective favonian, pertaining to the west wind).

Harvey excels in her characterisation, particularly that of Reve and in evoking the primal atmosphere and flavour of this historical period, her descriptions are rich in description and her vibrant prose is often so beautifully lyrical in her portrayal of everyday life. Jepsen said "Western Wind" was chosen as the lead single because "it was so opposite to what I normally do, which is start with the jingle-esque type song, and leave the rest for later. Approachable, plot-driven, it arrives on a wave of prepublication anticipation, and with the hope among her small yet devoted fanbase that this will be her breakout book.The richest man in the village, Thomas Newman, generally regarded as a benefactor, disappears and is found drowned, though the body is swept away before it can be retrieved. John Reve, spiritual advisor to the residents of the hardscrabble English village of Oakham, relates the story in reverse chronology over four days before Lent.