Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor Shearer

 A mesmerising novel of two young women who fight for love, survival and a spark of hope on the edge of the wilderness. From the acclaimed author of the Good Morning America Book Club pick River Sing Me Home.

Nova Scotia 1796. Cora, an orphan newly arrived from Jamaica, has never felt cold like this. In the depths of winter, everyone in her community huddles together in their homes to keep warm. So when she sees a shadow slipping through the trees, Cora thinks her eyes are deceiving her. Until she creeps out into the moonlight and finds the tracks in the snow.

Agnes is in hiding. On the run from her former life, she has learned what it takes to survive alone in the wilderness. But she can afford no mistakes. When she first spies the young woman in the woods, she is afraid. Yet Cora is fearless, and their paths are destined to cross.

Deep among the cedars, Cora and Agnes find a fragile place of safety. But when Agnes's past closes in, they are confronted with the dangerous price of freedom - and of love...

With evocative prose and immersive storytelling, a powerful novel about love - love for the wilderness in all its unforgiving beauty, and love between two women who risk everything to be together.

Author: Eleanor Shearer

Historical fiction

Published on 10 February 2026 by Headline Publishing Group (Headline Review) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 320 pages
242 x 163 x 31 | 518g