Helm cover art

Helm

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Helm

By: Sarah Hall
Narrated by: Louise Brealey
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About this listen

'Sarah Hall's writing has conquered the body and the soul and now it conquers the wind itself.' DAISY JOHNSON
'Ye Gods, Ms Hall is talented.' DAVID MITCHELL
'Incandescently good ... sexy and funny and erudite and strange.' SARAH PERRY, GUARDIAN
A wondrous, elemental novel from 'a writer of show-stopping genius,' GUARDIAN

Helm is a ferocious, mischievous wind - a subject of folklore and wonder - who has blasted the sublime landscape of the Eden Valley since the very dawn of time.

This is Helm's life story, formed from the chronicles of those the wind enchanted: the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate it, the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish it, the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture it - and the farmer's daughter who fell in love. But now Dr Selima Sutar, surrounded by measuring instruments, alone in her observation hut, fears the end is nigh.

Vital and audacious, Helm is the elemental tale of a unique life force - and of a relationship: between nature and people, neither of whom can weather life without the other.

'I can think of no other British writer whose talent so consistently thrills, surprises and staggers.' BENJAMIN MYERS
'I'm awed . I wouldn't think a novel could be at once so taut and so multifarious, expanding one's sense of what fiction can do.' SARAH MOSS
'Helm is just a brilliant achievement . I can think of no better writer to give voice to a natural phenomenon, because she is one herself.' KIRSTIN INNES
'A spectacular epic tapestry. Nobody could tell the story of our inextricable relationship with wild nature as beautifully as Sarah Hall.' LEE SCHOFIELD
'I forced myself to read slowly so it wouldn't end, and still consumed Helm as if starving. This is a novel to wallow in, it's rich and snug and feels wonderful.' COURTTIA NEWLAND
'A big, celebratory book, in places delightfully playful, in others as tight and breathless as a thriller.' ANDREW MILLER

©2025 Sarah Hall (P)2025 Faber & Faber
Anthologies & Short Stories Short Stories Funny

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All stars
Most relevant
I connected with the multitude of characters through the era of time. The humanisation of the wind in the changing wratger and challenging hills of the Lakes epitomised peoples connections with nature.

I enjoyed every character and story

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Tales of an ancient beliefs through to the Industrial Revolution and on into climate change with so so much in between.Sometimes funny and sometimes shocking and all bound to together by Britains only names wind that is HELM.
I did sometimes think I was reading a collection of short stories and gather that is often Sarah Halls style.
Helm is so beautifully descriptive I’m tempted to try some more of her work.
The book was given to our group by Faber @ Faber. Thank you.
I’d say it was loved and loathed equally.

An interesting read

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A stimulating, ambitious novel, beautifully read. (Particularly resonant for anyone who loves the North of England, and has stood on the summit of Cross Fell.)

The hero is a wind.

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I thought this was a totally stunning piece of writing. A tapestry of separate but interlocking scenarios exploring people’s relationship with a place and a wind. And building to a terrific climax.

Brilliant evocative story telling

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An extraordinary achievement- several separate, completely different narratives linked by their connection with the Helm. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

A stunning work of fiction

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