Outlawed

Anna North released a new book in 2025 titled The Bog Queen. Before getting to the new book, I was able to put on hold and get a copy of her debut novel Outlawed from the local library.

Ada is getting married. She is 17 and she loves her husband. She loves working alongside her mother, a respected midwife. After a year of marriage and there is no pregnancy, there is a threat in a town where barren women are often are accused and hung as witches.

Ada joins a gang led by the charismatic leader known as the Kid. Cast out by society, they are outlaws looking for safe place for the women deemed unworthy in a society that demands women have children.

A novelist and journalist, Anna North served on the editorial board for The New York Times, and currently is a senior correspondent for Vox. Her most recent book The Bog Queen follows American forensic anthropologist Agnes as she seeks answers in the case of a maiden found in the bog in northwest England. She finds that body dates back two thousand years. With a case that stretches back so many centuries, Agnes is up for the challenge to seek answers from the distant past. There are also the present day concerns.

Originally Published on January 15, 2026