Artemis
Written on Jan 29, 2016
Daughters of theWitching Hill brings history to life in a vivid and wrenching account of a family sustained by love as they try to survive the hysteria of a witch-hunt.
Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic.
When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights.
Sharratt interweaves well-researched historical details of the 1612 Pendle witch-hunt with a beautifully imagined story of strong women, family, and betrayal. Daughters of the Witching Hill is a powerful novel of intrigue and revelation.
- ISBN10 0547069677
- ISBN13 9780547069678
- Publish Date 7 April 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 28 June 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Houghton Mifflin
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 333
- Language English
Reviews
elysium
Written on Jul 20, 2010
The book is told through the eyes of two persons: Bess (first half) and Alizon (second half). While I liked it told from first person narrative but the characters didn’t come alive to me. You can see that the autohor has done her research but it also slows done the book with going on , and on, and on about their daily lives. I’ve never heard of the Pendle witches before and I’d like to hear more about the actual trials.
I don’t know much about that time period and it was interesting to read about common people of that time but I also think that it slowed down the book a little particularly in the beginning.