A review by thebooktrail88
Widdershins by Helen Steadman
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...
image:
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...