A Study in Drowning

A Study in Drowning is an academic romance by American author Ava Reid. It is a fantasy that takes place in an alternate secondary world that shares a number of thematic commonalities with our own. This novel combines fairy tale motifs with academic discourse to explore themes of gender discrimination, the pursuit of truth, the power of stories and belief, and the responsibilities of scholarship.

This guide is based on the Del Rey 2023 edition of A Study in Drowning.

Content Warning: This guide includes discussions of sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Effy Sayre is the only female student in her prestigious architecture college. A war is being fought between Llyr, the location of the college and Effy’s nationality, and Argant. The animosity between the two cultures makes Effy anxious that Llyrian literature will fade from prominence should they lose the war. She encounters an advertisement looking for an architecture student to take on a redesign project of Hiraeth Manor, the home of the late Emrys Myrddin, Effy’s favorite author. To prepare for her submission, Effy goes to the library searching for books on Myrddin; however, they’ve already all been taken out by someone else, an Argantian student. Soon after, Effy learns that her design has been chosen. Myrddin’s son, Ianto, has invited her to come to his home in the rural southern part of the country to discuss her plans. Before she leaves, she needs permission from her academic advisor Master Corbenic, whom she is afraid of following an experience of sexual assault by him.

Once her permission is obtained, Effy travels to Hiraeth Manor. She’s been asked to stay in the guest cottage, a small and rundown house guarded by a door with iron hinges. The next day, she goes to the main house and meets another student, Preston Héloury, who has been invited by Myrddin’s widow. He’s working on a thesis on Myrddin’s work. This and their contrasting attitudes put Effy and Preston at odds. Discouraged, Effy decides to leave Hiraeth and go into town, where she phones her mother. However, her mother’s dismissive cruelty encourages Effy to stay. In the town, Effy meets a strange shepherd who offers Effy a handful of magic stones and tells her to beware of the Fairy King.

Soon, Effy discovers Preston is actually hoping to disprove Myrddin’s authorship of Effy’s favorite novel, Angharad. While initially horrified at the idea, assuming his desire to do so is based on prejudice against her culture, Effy agrees to help Preston uncover the truth. Later, Ianto brings Effy into town for lunch to discuss their plans. However, he begins to make her uncomfortable with his comments on her appearance. Suddenly, Ianto gets up to leave, and they drive away rapidly. On the way back, Effy hallucinates that she is sitting beside the Fairy King. She leaps from the car and walks back on foot. Effy and Preston continue their search, growing closer to one another and sharing memories of their pasts. They discover an abandoned box that belonged to Myrddin, which contains a diary and photographs of a young, undressed woman. The journal mentions Myrddin’s dealings with another writer, Colin Blackmar, and Effy and Preston decide to visit him. Effy reveals that she has been dreaming about the Fairy King since she was a child, after her mother abandoned her by the river. The Fairy King came to collect her, but her mother changed her mind at the last moment and brought her home.

Effy and Preston visit Blackmar’s estate and join him for an evening party, where they meet his and Myrddin’s editor. However, both Blackmar and the editor are evasive when asked about the publication of Angharad. Effy discovers passionate letters between Myrddin and what appears to be Blackmar’s daughter. Back at Hiraeth Manor, Effy tries to seduce Preston. He declines, stating that he heard about the assault by Master Corbenic. They continue exploring the house and find Ianto preparing for an oncoming storm. Inside, Effy explores a flooded basement and finds another discarded box, this one marked “Angharad.” She and Preston spend the night together, then wake to the beginning of the storm. They go to collect their note and findings before leaving to return home, but they encounter Ianto. He has decided to sacrifice Preston to the sea in order to ensure the longevity of his house, seemingly unaware that it is collapsing around him. Ianto reveals that he has been possessed by the Fairy King and awarded Effy the project in order to bring her to him. Effy manages to defeat the Fairy King, but Preston has already been left to drown. She goes to rescue him and is aided by the appearance of Myrddin’s reclusive widow, who turns out to be Blackmar’s daughter, Angharad.

Angharad tells Effy and Preston the story of how she wrote her novel, which was then sold to Myrddin in exchange for marrying her following their affair. Their arrangement meant that Myrddin would receive the publicity and credit while Blackmar received all the royalty payments. Effy and Preston take their findings back to the college and prepare to publish an exposé on Angharad’s true authorship. In exchange, Effy is given a place at the men-only literature college and a promise that Master Corbenic will be fired. She and Preston begin their new life together.