Heap Earth Upon It

Chloe Michelle Howarth

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Hardback

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English

Verve Books
30 October 2025

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Historical fiction; Fiction: special features

January 1965. The orphaned O'Leary siblings

Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy

arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start.

After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they're taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship and an opportunity to fit in.

But for one of the O'Learys, this new friendship sparks an intense attachment that makes the dynamic dangerous for all. It's difficult to bury secrets, but almost impossible to bury feelings...

Like Howarth's acclaimed debut, Heap Earth Upon It explores rural Irish life at a specific moment in time and delves into claustrophobic relationships and tangled identities, leaving you wondering who to trust until the very last page.

'Heap Earth Upon It is a tense and claustrophobic novel with gothic atmosphere which seeps into your bones like fog. It's a fascinating look at mid-century rural Irish life, and a brutal exploration of the corrosive impact of shame and secrecy. Chloe Michelle Howarth knows her sapphic yearning!'

Rachel Dawson, author of Neon Roses

'Dark, passionate and poised. A remarkable story of the way rural Ireland haunts and is haunted. Intense and thrilling.'

Soula Emmanuel, author of Wild Geese

By: Chloe Michelle Howarth
Imprint: Verve Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm,
ISBN: 9780857309051
ISBN 10: 0857309056
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 30 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Chloe Michelle Howarth was born in July 1996. She grew up in the West Cork countryside, which has served as an inspiration for her writing. She attended university at IADT in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, where she studied English, Media and Cultural Studies. Chloe currently lives in Brighton. Her debut novel, Sunburn, was shortlisted for the 2024 Polari First Book Prize, the 2024 Book of the Year: Discover Award at the British Book Awards and the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction and longlisted for the 2024 Diverse Book Awards.

Reviews for Heap Earth Upon It

I lost myself in Chloe Michelle Howarth's strange and startling second novel. It's a deeply affecting tapestry of gothic landscapes and virtuosic, character driven prose. As it haunted me, Heap Earth Upon It will haunt you too -- Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb A tense and claustrophobic novel with gothic atmosphere that seeps into your bones like fog. It's a fascinating look at mid-century rural Irish life, and a brutal exploration of the corrosive impact of shame and secrecy. Chloe Michelle Howarth knows her sapphic yearning! -- Rachel Dawson, author of Neon Roses Dark, passionate and poised. A remarkable story of the way rural Ireland haunts and is haunted. Intense and thrilling -- Soula Emmanuel, author of Wild Geese