A Land So Wide

A Novel

by Erin A. Craig

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Pub Date Sep 02 2025 | Archive Date Oct 09 2025

Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon

Historical Fiction | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy

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Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child comes an irresistible blend of dark fairytale and romantic fantasy. • The town of Mistaken has a secret…and it’s up to one woman to uncover the truth, confront her past, and save the man she loves.

"Wonderous and haunting. Erin A. Craig strikes gold again." —Marisha Pessl, New York Times bestselling author of Night Film and Darkly

"This book is an undeniable triumph. Beautiful and dark and unforgettable.” —Shea Ernshaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A History of Wild Places

Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious lumber merchant, the village is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Determined to rescue Ellis, she figures out a way to defy Mistaken’s curse and begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But there, Greer is hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding and her own origins.

Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman's relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and seize her own future.

Advance Praise

"Wonderous and haunting. A mystery told by firelight and shadow with all of the heart, danger, and destiny of our most timeless American folktales. Erin A. Craig strikes gold again."

—Marisha Pessl, New York Times bestselling author of Night Film and Darkly

“With all the wit of a classic fable and the dreaminess of a modern romance, A Land So Wide is like the woods themselves: lovely, dark, and deep. I was beguiled by every word.”

—Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

“No one does it like Erin Craig. A Land So Wide is a dark, atmospheric love story that takes you by the hand and leads you straight into a snowy folktale.”

—Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of Hemlock Queen

“The Canadian wilderness has never felt so wild and untamed. Erin Craig has masterfully woven the stark beauty of nature with the eerie pulse of the unnatural, where the land itself seems to come alive. A Land So Wide is a breathtaking exploration into humanity's unyielding drive to conquer, and the cost of ignoring what lies beyond the boundaries of the known world. This book is an undeniable triumph. Beautiful and dark and unforgettable.”

—Shea Ernshaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A History of Wild Places

"A Land So Wide is a spellbinding journey through a landscape as beautiful as it is treacherous. With lush, enchanting storytelling, Craig crafts a world so vivid you can taste the air and hear the whisper of the trees. I was utterly enthralled from the first page to the last."

—Elizabeth Helen, bestselling author of Bonded by Thorns

"Wonderous and haunting. A mystery told by firelight and shadow with all of the heart, danger, and destiny of our most timeless American folktales. Erin A. Craig strikes gold again."

—Marisha Pessl, ...