Who Would Like This Book:
If you love immersive historical fiction with a touch of the mystical, this one’s for you. Mary Sharratt brings the Pendle witch trials to life through the eyes of Bess Southerns (aka Mother Demdike) and her granddaughter Alizon. The book shines with rich detail, atmospheric writing, and strong female characters just trying to survive in a world stacked against them. It does a brilliant job demystifying "witchcraft" and highlighting the realities for poor women, healers, and accused witches in 17th-century England. Fans of Philippa Gregory, The Heretic’s Daughter, or anyone fascinated by real-life witch trials (beyond just Salem!) will be hooked.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the pacing a bit uneven – the novel spends a lot of time building up daily life and only gets to the actual trials toward the end. If you’re looking for a high-stakes courtroom thriller or rapid plot twists, this may feel slow. The dual first-person viewpoints don’t work for everyone, and a few found the mystical elements or heavy detail either far-fetched or bogged down the flow. If you prefer fast-paced action or less focus on historical daily life, this might not be your cup of tea.
About:
'Daughters of the Witching Hill' by Mary Sharratt is a historical fiction novel set in Pendle Forest, England, during the time of the Pendle witch trials. The story follows the lives of cunning women and supposed witches living in poverty, using herbal remedies and folk magic to help their neighbors. The narrative is rich in historical detail, exploring the social circumstances of the time, religious persecution, and the fear and suspicion that led to the witch trials. The book is narrated through the eyes of Bess Southerns, known as Mother Demdike, and her granddaughter Alizon Device, providing a multi-generational perspective on the events unfolding in the community.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of violence, betrayal, discussions of execution, and the persecution of women accused of witchcraft.
From The Publisher:
From the author of The Dark Lady, a novel of England's trial of the Pendle witches of 1612 and a family struggling to survive the hysteria.
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.
This e-book includes a sample chapter of Illuminations.
"Daughters of the Witching Hill offers a fresh approach with witches who believe in their own power and yet, in many ways, are still innocent. Sharratt's readers-like the magistrate who took the women's confessions-are likely to be spellbound by their stories."-San Francisco Chronicle "Full of the reality of the day, this story is stark and real, but Sharratt's descriptions of landscape and the daily life of the poor at the time are rich enough to feed the senses. The author weaves this vast canvas of changing culture into the personal stories of these women, and in the process transports us to a distant land, a distant time-and deep into the story of people we sympathize with and care about."- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
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