More Miracle than Bird

Written by Alice Miller

Narrated by Polly Lee

For fans of Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife and Amor Towles’s Rules of Civility, Alice Miller's sweeping debut novel charts the love story of two of literature’s most fascinating characters: Georgie Hyde-Lees and her husband, W. B. Yeats.

On the eve of World War I, twenty-one-year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees—on her own for the first time—is introduced to the acclaimed poet W. B. Yeats at a soirée in London. Although Yeats is famously eccentric and many years her senior, Georgie is drawn to him, and when he extends a cryptic invitation to a secret society, her life is forever changed.

A shadow falls over London as zeppelins stalk overhead and bombs bloom against the skyline. Amidst the chaos, Georgie finds purpose tending to injured soldiers in a makeshift hospital, befriending the wounded and heartbroken Lieutenant Pike, who might need more from her than she is able to give. At night with Yeats, she escapes these realities into an even darker world, becoming immersed in The Order, a clandestine society where ritual, magic, and the conjuring of spirits is practiced and pursued. As forces—both of this world and the next—pull Yeats and Georgie closer together and then apart again, Georgie uncovers a secret that threatens to undo it all.

In bright, commanding prose debut author Alice Miller illuminates the fascinating and unforgettable courtship of Georgie Hyde-Lees and W. B. Yeats. A sweeping tale of faith and love, lost and found and fought for, More Miracle than Bird ingeniously captures the moments—both large and small—on which the fate of whole lives and countries hinge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980090106

Alice Miller

Alice Miller, Ph.D., practiced and taught psychoanalysis for over twenty years before devoting herself to writing in 1979. She is the author of the bestselling Prisoners of Childhood (reissued in paperback as The Drama of the Gifted Child) and For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence, as well as numerous other books. Miller lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Reviews for More Miracle than Bird

[shannonrose4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting, well- paced historical debut about WB Yates and his wife that takes you into the world of poetry, spirits and the unknown. I finished it in my second reading session.
Good for anyone who likes The Paris Wife.

[fromthecomfychair · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Historical fiction based on the lives of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats and his wife Georgie Hyde-Lees. The story takes place in England and Ireland around WWI. Georgie comes to London to work as a nurse in war-torn London. She becomes enamored with WB, or Willy, although he is a womanizer twice her age who has spent 30 years unsuccessfully chasing Maud Gonne, an Irish nationalist. WB sponsors Georgie to join a secret society in which they both have an interest. She does eventually become his wife, and she is credited with helping him to produce great poetry after their marriage, partly by acting as a medium for a character who gives him advice. It is interesting that he takes advice from this male character, whom she names Thomas, though if she herself were to give this advice, he would probably ignore it. I question whether Georgie herself believes she is channeling this Thomas or merely pretending to because she understands WB. In any case, she was a pretty shrewd woman for her times, though she had to share him with other women after their marriage. Not sure a modern woman would have thought him worth the effort, but a hundred years ago it was a different story. It took a few chapters to lure me in, but then I couldn't put it down. This debut author has a lyrical way with language. Quite a pleasure to read.

[brangwinn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great historical fiction writers have a sense of imagination to bring the unknown forward. Georgie Hyde-Lees is a nurse tending to World War I soldiers by day and at night she a member of an occult London group. W.B. Yeats, the poet, is also a member. He’s quite a ladies’ man and one would never guess that the stubborn and not so attractive young Georgie would marry the older Yeats. Turns out there’s another love interest for Georgie in one of her patients. Yet Georgie marries Yeats and proves she’ll be more useful than a “glorified secretary.

[fastforward-46127 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I guess I went into this one with high expectations because I've had a good run of historical fiction reads lately. This one unfortunately fell flat as hardly anything seemed to click with me. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this one more had I known anything about W. B. Yeats and his wife before reading. They didn't seem to come alive on the pages and to be quite honest I was bored for so much of the story.Georgie Hyde-Lees is twenty-one years old when she first meets poet W. B. Yeats. Even though he is much, much older than Georgie, she is drawn to him. He introduces her to the world of the occult and a secret society called The Order. World War 1 is threatening to break out and Georgie spends some of her time working in a makeshift hospital in London treating injured soldiers.I just could not get into any of the story that involved Yeats which is a significant portion of the book. And that's a shame because he was the main reason I chose to read this book as I was interested in learning about him. With a good historical fiction you don't need to have prior knowledge about the famous person or event, in order to enjoy the story. However, in this case it could have helped a bit as it might have given me a better understanding of him as a person. To be perfectly honest, it still remains a mystery to me as to what Georgie saw in him.There were elements of the story I liked which is why I stuck with it. Georgie had an interesting family history and I would have been fine if the book went into more detail about her childhood. I also thought the injured soldier at the hospital, Lieutenant Pike, enhanced the story and my interest level always went up when there was a scene at the hospital. Now whether or not Lieutenant Pike actually existed or was a product of the author's imagination, I do not know. Maybe the history buffs will have the answer. Regardless, I liked him as a character.While this was a bit of a disappointing read for me, I have no regrets about reading it. Not every book is going to be a good fit for every reader.Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review!