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A dazzling, shocking novel that speaks to our times, drawing on the 16th-century case of the witches of Warboys. Alice Samuel might be old and sharp-tongued, but she's no fool. Visiting her new neighbours in her Fenland village, she suspects Squire Throckmorton's household is not as God-fearing as it seems and finds the children troubled. What she cannot foresee is that all five daughters will succumb in turn to a terrifying affliction and accuse her of witchcraft - who else to blame than an ugly, black-capped woman with mysterious healing skills? The Throckmortons' maid Martha, uncomfortably aware of strange goings-on in the household herself, is reluctant to believe that Alice is a witch. Yet visiting scholars attracted by the news are convinced, evidence mounts and soon the entire village is swept up in the frenzied persecution of one of their own community. Exploring a neglected episode in English history to powerful effect, The Bewitching chillingly conveys the brutal tribalism that can erupt in a closed society and how victims can be made to believe in their own wickedness.
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The Bewitching, Jill Dawson
- Language
- Released
- 2022
- product-detail.submit-box.info.binding
- (Paperback)
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- Title
- The Bewitching
- Language
- English
- Authors
- Jill Dawson
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Released
- 2022
- Format
- Paperback
- ISBN10
- 147365467X
- ISBN13
- 9781473654679
- Series
- Rating
- 3.85 out of 5
- Description
- A dazzling, shocking novel that speaks to our times, drawing on the 16th-century case of the witches of Warboys. Alice Samuel might be old and sharp-tongued, but she's no fool. Visiting her new neighbours in her Fenland village, she suspects Squire Throckmorton's household is not as God-fearing as it seems and finds the children troubled. What she cannot foresee is that all five daughters will succumb in turn to a terrifying affliction and accuse her of witchcraft - who else to blame than an ugly, black-capped woman with mysterious healing skills? The Throckmortons' maid Martha, uncomfortably aware of strange goings-on in the household herself, is reluctant to believe that Alice is a witch. Yet visiting scholars attracted by the news are convinced, evidence mounts and soon the entire village is swept up in the frenzied persecution of one of their own community. Exploring a neglected episode in English history to powerful effect, The Bewitching chillingly conveys the brutal tribalism that can erupt in a closed society and how victims can be made to believe in their own wickedness.