The River Has Roots

The River Has Roots, by Canadian speculative fiction writer Amal El-Mohtar, is a fantasy novella based on the folkloric murder ballad of “The Two Sisters.” In The River Has Roots, the two sisters of the murder ballad become Esther and Ysabel Hawthorn, who live near the border between the English countryside and the land of Faerie, called Arcadia; there, they sing songs to tend to their family’s magical willow trees. A wealthy man in town attempts to court Esther but fails, as she has a secret Arcadian lover. When the man lashes out over the rejection, killing Esther, she must find a way to warn Ysabel of the man’s cruel nature from beyond the grave. With poetic prose and complex wordplay, the novella explores themes of The Power of Language, The Importance of Sisterhood and Familial Bonds, and Resistance to Patriarchal Oppression.

This guide refers to the 2025 hardcover edition published by Tordotcom Books.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death and gender discrimination.

Plot Summary

In rural England, near the town of Thistleford, the River Liss runs from the Faerie land of Arcadia, carrying the wild magic of grammar in its water. Grammar has the power to transform what it touches and is governed by complex rules of meaning and wordplay. The willow trees along the river, including two giant willows called the Professors, filter the wild grammar from the water with their roots, making the water safe and the grammar within willow wood usable by humans. Marking the boundaries between Arcadia and the human world is a wild area called the Modal Lands.

The two Hawthorn sisters, Esther and Ysabel, are part of a family tasked with caring for and singing to the willow trees. Esther, the eldest, has two suitors: a gentleman farmer named Samuel Pollard and an Arcadian called Rin. Esther does not like Pollard, though Ysabel does. Esther first met Rin while wandering in the Modal Lands, close to the boundary of Arcadia. Rin appeared in the form of a storm, then an owl, and then a woman playing a harp and speaking in riddles.

One day, Pollard proposes marriage to Esther, who refuses him. That night, Esther sneaks away to visit Rin in the Modal Lands. Esther and Rin sing riddle songs and discuss Arcadia, where time flows differently. Rin wants Esther to join them in Arcadia, but Esther does not want to abandon Ysabel, who fears that Esther will one day abandon her to stay in Arcadia. Esther, who has always promised to return to her sister, instead asks Rin to marry her and live in the human world until Esther’s death. Rin agrees and makes signet rings from Esther’s hair.

Rin returns to Arcadia to settle their affairs while Esther heads home to await their return. However, Pollard follows her and confronts her by the river. Jealous and disgusted by Esther’s Arcadian lover, Pollard pushes her into the river and drowns her, promising to take care of Ysabel.

The River Liss reverses course to carry Esther into Arcadia, where a human woman named Agnes Crow finds her transformed into a swan. Years before, Agnes helped Esther and Ysabel when they became lost in Arcadia as young children. Now, Rin and Agnes use grammar to change Esther back into a woman. However, Esther can now only live if she remains in Arcadia: She must choose to stay and live or return home and die. Fearing for Ysabel, Esther asks Rin to turn her into a harp so that she can warn her sister about Pollard.

Rin carries the harp to the Hawthorn family, where months have gone by and Ysabel has become engaged to Pollard, believing that Esther ran away with her Arcadian lover. Rin offers to play a song for the family. The harp sings in Esther’s voice about her own murder, accusing Pollard. Ysabel tests the harp with a secret song that she and Esther made up together, proving that the story is true. The townsfolk capture Pollard and use river water to turn him into a willow tree as punishment.

Ysabel releases Esther from her promise to stay with her, allowing Rin to take the harp back to Arcadia, where Esther can live as a woman. Later, Ysabel ventures into Arcadia to visit her sister.