Once Was Willem
core novel 2025 Once Was Willem
Record
| First published | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.03 (4,037 ratings, collected 2026-08-19) |
| Page count | 310 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780316505024 |
Synopsis
Once Was Willem is a 2025 dark medieval fantasy by M.R. Carey, narrated by its central figure roughly eleven hundred years after the death of Christ. Willem Turling dies of a fever at age twelve in the English village of Cosham, and his grieving parents strike a desperate bargain with a powerful sorcerer to bring him back to life. Willem does return, but fundamentally changed by whatever magic restored him, and his own parents and the rest of the village cast him out rather than accept what he has become, forcing him to make his way through a world that now sees him as something other than human.
Where it sits
- Universe: Once Was Willem
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: M.R. Carey
Notes
- A single standalone medieval-village fantasy novel; no sequel announced.
Sources
← Once Was Willem dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.