Hirethow - preorders

Hirethow - preorders
by Clare Howdle

Hireth [noun. Origins: Cornwall]
longing / loneliness / nostalgia / yearning
Plural: Hirethow

Clare Howdle's debut collection of life-spanning short stories

A young man trying to find his feet discovers he can move through walls, for a price. 
A daughter caring for her sick mother seeks a different kind of silence in the ocean’s depths.
A woman struggling to get pregnant starts conversing with iconic fictional characters.
A tree, in Buenos Aires, begins to scream.

This debut short story collection, Hirethow finds fresh perspectives on the myriad meanings of the Cornish word, catapulting it into a contemporary landscape and ever so off-kilter reality, to reflect on how the world works. 
Ten characters.
Ten lenses through which Hireth is seen.
Small moments held up to the light, heartbreak wrought by sea wind and salt.

How does what we hear shape the reality we choose?
Is it possible to overcome the envy, hope and relentlessness of pregnancy and birth?
And what, exactly have these walls seen?

Paperback
Language: English
published by Hermitage Press
Due for publication in August 2026