#BookReview of Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor Shearer

‘A mesmeric novel of two young women who fight for love, survival
and a spark of hope on the edge of the wilderness.‘

[ About Fireflies in Winter ]

Nova Scotia 1796. Cora, an orphan newly arrived from Jamaica, has never felt cold like this. In the depths of winter, everyone in her community huddles together in their homes to keep warm. So when she sees a shadow slipping through the trees, Cora thinks her eyes are deceiving her. Until she creeps out into the moonlight and finds the tracks in the snow.

Agnes is in hiding. On the run from her former life, she has learned what it takes to survive alone in the wilderness. But she can afford no mistakes. When she first spies the young woman in the woods, she is afraid. Yet Cora is fearless, and their paths are destined to cross.

Deep among the cedars, Cora and Agnes find a fragile place of safety. But when Agnes’s past closes in, they are confronted with the dangerous price of freedom – and of love…

[ My Review ]

Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor Shearer publishes with Headline February 10th and is described as a novel ‘with evocative prose and immersive storytelling…a powerful novel about love – love for the wilderness in all its unforgiving beauty, and love between two women who risk everything to be together.’

In 1796 the Jamaican Maroons were sent into exile, under British rule, to Nova Scotia following the Maroon wars. Originally descended from escaped African slaves, the harsh conditions of the Canadian climate proved a great challenge for many of the settlers. Cora, one of these new arrivals from Trelawny Town, was orphaned from birth and reared by Leah, an African slave, who mothered her and looked out for her, under the roof of a Maroon army soldier, Captain Silas Heath. This is quite a complex story but, as the pages turn, Cora’s history is slowly revealed.

Life in Nova Scotia during the dark winter months is cruel but for these Maroons the temperature change is particularly difficult. Cultivating a harvest in hard ground is impossible so it is vital that they establish how to make ends meet. Silas Heath is a hard man to live with. He was originally married to Cora’s friend, Elsy, who died tragically. Cora made a promise that until her death she would mind Elsy’s son Benjamin like he was her own. Cora is different. She sees the world and those that inhabit it in her own way and is frustrated by the restrictions of her life here in Nova Scotia. Silas Heath is quite threatening in his behaviour toward her and has made it clear he does not want her to influence Benjamin’s personality in anyway.

Cora likes to wander and it is on one of these off-path excursions that she sees something, a shadow in the forest. There one minute, and gone so fast the next, she initially believes that it is a ghostly apparition, perhaps the spirit of Elsy. But in time she discovers a young woman, Agnes, living alone in the wilderness. Agnes is very wary of Cora. She has remained hidden deep in forest foraging and living off her wits for survival. Agnes has her own past and is on the run, keeping to the hiddens trails away from the local villages and towns.

Overtime as Cora and Agnes slowly get to know each other, Agnes drops her guard and a tentative relationship begins. As they find their way with each other, Agnes exposes herself more but in doing so puts herself in a very dangerous position. As their very survival hangs on the balance can Cora and Agnes ever be together in this unforgiving society?

Eleanor Shearer’s family history is rooted in migration as her relatives left the Caribbean for the bleakness of the English climate. Through research she discovered more about the Maroons and the deal that was struck with the British government of the time. Combining their story with that of the American slaves post the War of Independence, she takes the reader on a vivid and, at times, heartbreaking immersive journey. Fireflies in Winter is a beautiful atmospheric novel that highlights the challenges of life experienced by these early settlers. The relationship between Cora and Agnes is sensitively depicted as it slowly blossoms into something very special. Fireflies in Winter is an enveloping tale, an evocative and vividly realised historical portrayal of a story of resilience and love against all the odds.

‘Our imaginations have failed us if we think the queer people who came before us never experienced joy. We should not forget that they were demonized and punished. But we should also not forget that, sometimes, they simply loved’ – Eleanor Shearer

[Thank you to Headline for an advance copy of Fireflies in Winter in excahnge for my honest review]

[ Bio ]

Eleanor Shearer is a mixed-race writer and the granddaughter of Windrush generation immigrants. She splits her time between London and Ramsgate. Her debut novel River Sing Me Home sold in 20 territories. It was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2023, was a finalist for the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Fiction Award, shortlisted for the Grand Prix des Lectrices ELLE 2025 in France and also shortlisted for the Prix Fragonard 2025 in France. It was a Good Morning America Book Club pick, and has been optioned for film by AL Films and BBC Films.