Reviews

Widdershins by Helen Steadman

books_in_wales's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

mystikai's review

5.0

Widdershins is inspired around the 1650 Newcastle witch trials, the main characters are Jane Chandler, who has been using herbs along with her mother since childhood to cure the sick. Jane is accused of witchcraft and her mother was condemned, and John Sharpe and a man whose mother died during birth and his father blamed him and the “witch” who attended the birth and disowned him. John was an awful person, maybe because of the childhood he experienced but he was on a mission to expose all witches and put them to their death.

Witch trials have always fascinated me, what made townsfolk think the women were witches in the first place, the different ways they tortured these women to prove they were witches and how they put them to their death. The trials were pointless because the townsfolk had already made their minds up, without any real evidence.
This was an amazing book and audiobook; Helen Steadman wrote it so very well and the narrator Christine Mackie gave a great performance and she kept me wanted to listen to her.
There was a cliffhanger ending and I am excited to listen to the second book very soon.

thepageladies's review

4.0

Widdershins was a heartbreaking, fascinating & twisted read! The author did a great job taking a time in history & bringing it back to life for us! It didn't take long for this book to grab hold of me! The story is told from 2 POV’s Jane & the witchfinder which I really liked. It was nice being able to hear from both sides almost like listening to good & evil in one! Jane is the main character and you won't be able to stop the heartbreak you will feel for her! This really was a sad but great story! I cant wait to start Sunwise!

helenephoebe's review against another edition

4.0

Review - This was our book club pick for January 2020, and I really enjoyed reading it. It's based in my home town of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and based on a true story of 15 (or 16) witches executed on the Town Moor in 1650. Steadman's writing is engaging and swapping between the two different sides - one chapter from the view of a witch hunter and one from the view of an accused witch. It is a fictional portrayal of an event I knew very little about, though I have studied the European witch-craze as part of my degree. The book is very atmospheric and really brings to mind what life must have been like at that time.

Genre? - Historical

Characters? - Annie Chandler / Jane Chandler / Reverend Foster / Tom Verger / Andrew Driver / John Sharpe / Kirstie Slater / Dora

Setting? - Newcastle (England)

Series? - N/A

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 16/20

For a full review see my blog at https://bookbloggerish.wordpress.com/2020/02/20/book-review-widdershins-by-helen-steadman/

kizzia's review

I didn't gel with the writing style.

mapscitiesandsongs's review

I sadly had to Dnf the book, which is unfortunate because from what I have read so far, it was actually pretty good. I just wasn't in the right headspace for it. It was really draining...obviously. I don't know why I always put myself through books like that when I am fully aware that I don't feel good while reading them.

hayhay321's review against another edition

3.0

This book was a little slow to start as the story focuses more on character development. I have not done any personal research into the events this book was inspired by, being (only slightly) more familiar with the witch trials that occurred here in the US, such as the Salem trials, etc. So it was interesting to hear about similar events occurring in other parts of the world at the same time. Though this was a work of fiction, it was interesting to hear how the author imagined characters such as John Sharp developing into the men who spearheaded such events. Some of the passages were infuriating to listen to as a modern woman, and the fear that must have been felt by women during this time was palpable. Steadman's research into the medicinal properties of various plants and herbs and the folklore surrounding them was clear and, personally, one of the parts of the story I enjoyed the most.

Spoiler

My primary complaint regarding the novel is that I wish some explanation had been given as to why/how John decided which individuals should be found guilty as witches. After the explanation of how the pricker worked and how he could determine the fate of such women simply by allowing the point to retract, therefore giving the impression she failed to bleed and leading to a guilty verdict, it would have been interesting to include some insight into his internal thought process regarding who he allowed to bleed and who he did not. The second pricking in which Jane bled, which led to her release and the discovery of John's deceit, it seems could have been avoided if he had simply let the blade retract. This specific instance, paired with the knowledge that John could influence the results, left me wishing Steadman had provided some kind of explanation regarding how John decided when to use the hidden switch in his device, and when he truly left the results "up to God".

I do plan on listening to the second book in this series and am curious to hear if it was also inspired by historical events, or is purely a fictional work to continue the story of the characters created for this novel.

I was given a promotional copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

esterterestrial's review

This has the bones of a great story - the characters could be full of life and depth and believability, if they weren’t written with such shallow, one-dimensional personalities. There’s no nuance or flow or reflection in the narrative, either; it’s incredibly basic, overly simple storytelling, with no real emotion and no bond-building between reader and protagonist(s). It feels like something you’d read early in primary school and I just cannot be bothered. 

cazxxx's review

dark slow-paced

3.0

thebooktrail88's review

5.0

Visit the real locations in the novel Widdershins

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Gripping, heartbreaking, insightful, chilling - oh yes - very very chilling. This is one book I won't forget in a hurry. It's based on true facts - the witch trials of Newcastle in the 1650s which were the result of women being persecuted for being women, for giving birth, for taking remedies to soothe pain as they went against God's will apparently....

There are two stories - Jane and John - Jane is a young girl living with women accused of the worst crimes, trying to make her way in the world and being controlled by men at every turn. John is the innocent young boy marred by tragedy and circumstance but it's his transformation which chilled me to the core. Soon he too, is a witch hunter himself -how he changes has to be one of the most frightening things I've witness in a while - I say witness as that's how I felt reading this - as a witness to a shocking period of history. Sharp, raw, visceral language of the day helps cement this in your mind. The aroma of the herbs and the local remedies in the book will scent your tears as they fall...