NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A wild and willful young woman finds herself at the center of a tale of spirits, ancient evils, and the mysterious winter-king Frost—in the lyrical first novel of the Winternight Trilogy. “A beautiful deep-winter story, full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.”—Naomi Novik, bestselling author of Uprooted Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil. Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village. But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed—to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales. “[ The Bear and the Nightingale ] has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.”— The Washington Post Don't miss any of the Winternight Trilogy: THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE • THE GIRL IN THE TOWER • THE WINTER OF THE WITCH “Arden’s debut novel has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.” — The Washington Post “Vasya [is] a clever, stalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices.” —The Christian Science Monitor “Stunning . . . will enchant readers from the first page. . . . with an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim her own fate.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Utterly bewitching . . . a lush narrative . . . an immersive, earthy story of folk magic, faith, and hubris, peopled with vivid, dynamic characters, particularly clever, brave Vasya, who outsmarts men and demons alike to save her family.” — Booklist (starred review) “Arden’s supple, sumptuous first novel transports the reader to a version of medieval Russia where history and myth coexist.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Radiant . . . a darkly magical fairy tale for adults, [but] not just for those who love magic.” —Library Journal “An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale . . . A Russian setting adds unfamiliar spice to the story of a young woman who does not rebel against the limits of her role in her culture so much as transcend them.  The Bear and the Nightingale  is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep winter magic.” —Robin Hobb   “A beautiful deep-winter story, full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.” —Naomi Novik “Haunting and lyrical,  The Bear and the Nightingale  tugs at the heart and quickens the pulse. I can’t wait for Katherine Arden's next book.” —Terry Brooks   “ The Bear and the Nightingale  is a marvelous trip into an ancient Russia where magic is a part of everyday life.” —Todd McCaffrey   “Enthralling and enchanting—I couldn’t put it down. This is a wondrous book!” —Tamora Pierce Born in Austin, Texas, Katherine Arden spent a year of high school in Rennes, France. Following her acceptance to Middlebury College in Vermont, she deferred enrollment for a year in order to live and study in Moscow. At Middlebury, she specialized in French and Russian literature. After receiving her BA, she moved to Maui, Hawaii, working every kind of odd job imaginable, from grant writing and making crêpes to guiding horse trips. Currently she lives in Vermont, but really, you never know. It was late winter in northern Rus’, the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow. The brilliant February landscape had given way to the dreary gray of March, and the household of Pyotr Vladimirovich were all sniffling from the damp and thin from six weeks’ fasting on black bread and fermented cabbage. But no one was thinking of chilblains or runny noses, or even, wistfully, of porridge and roast meats, for Dunya was to tell a story. That evening, the old lady sat in the best place for talking: in the kitchen, on the wooden bench beside the oven. This oven was a massive affair built of fired clay, taller than a man and large enough that all four of Pyotr Vladimirovich’s children could have fit easily inside. The flat top served as a sleeping platform; its innards cooked their food, heated their kitchen, and made steam-baths for the sick. “What tale will you have tonight?” Dunya inquired, enjoying the fire at her back. Pyotr’s children sat before her, perched on stools. They a