In 1643 England Rebecca West I hoping for a little bit more than the dreary boredom of life in a small town deplete from War. But then the so-called witch finder General comes to town and she winds up in the middle of a nightmare.
Witches.
Historical fiction.
A look at how entirely misdirected people (at best) with their own demons finds a way to take it out on others and make themselves more important than they ever were or should be.
All at the expense of those at the bottom in 99% of these cases. Yes Matthew Hopkins (said witch finder) wants acclaim and to feel good about himself and the best way to do that is to blame the strange occurrences of the town (and in some cases normal everyday but sad things) on an old poor woman who can barely take care of herself and Rebecca’s proud mother who likes the drink just a bit too much and is way to prideful.
The chips fall from their and Rebecca herself is caught up in the witch trials of the day.
As someone who loves witches I really enjoyed The Manningtree Witches. It’s very much a character piece and kind of quiet in that regard which only serves to make the end more heartrending I think. It’s also as it was historically frustrating and as Rebecca points out you can’t disapprove something like an accusation you were in two places at once.
At least not to any right thinking person which the people behind the witch trials certainly weren’t.
FYI I saw at least on Amazon this book is being called Wolf Hall meets The Favorite and I haven’t read Wolf Hall but it doesn’t remind me of The Favorite movie at all so keep that in mind 🙂
Recommend: Yes.
Overall I enjoyed The Manningtree Witches. Recommend for historical fiction fans and especially character centric stories and witch fans. It’s not out until August in the states but I had heard about this (I have to stop watching Booktube) and ordered it on-line.