Named a best historical novel of the year by The New York Times Book Review and ';reminiscent of both The Scarlet Letter and Hamnet' (Jezebel), The Witching Tide is a powerful debut inspired by the true events behind a deadly witch hunt in 17th-century England.East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer, and servant, has lived peacefully for more than four decades in her beloved seaside village of Cleftwater. Having lost her voice as a child, Martha has not spoken a word in years.
One autumn morning, a sinister newcomer appears in town. A ';witchfinder,' Silas Makepeace has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and his arrival in Cleftwater strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being detained. Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for ';devil's marks,' and finds herself a silent witness to the hunt.
Martha is caught between suspicion and betrayal; between shielding herself or condemning the women of the village. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that belonged to her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll's true powers are unknowable, Martha harbors a terrible secret, and the gallows are looming
Set over the course of a few weeks that forever changed history, and for readers of Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood,
The Witching Tide ';illuminates a dark historical period and cautions against its recreation' (
Kirkus Reviews).
Named a best historical novel of the year by The New York Times Book Review and “reminiscent of both The Scarlet Letter and Hamnet” (Jezebel), The Witching Tide is a powerful debut inspired by the true events behind a deadly witch hunt in 17th-century England.East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer, and servant, has lived peacefully for more than four decades in her beloved seaside village of Cleftwater. Having lost her voice as a child, Martha has not spoken a word in years.
One autumn morning, a sinister newcomer appears in town. A “witchfinder,” Silas Makepeace has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and his arrival in Cleftwater strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being detained. Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for “devil’s marks,” and finds herself a silent witness to the hunt.
Martha is caught between suspicion and betrayal; between shielding herself or condemning the women of the village. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that belonged to her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, Martha harbors a terrible secret, and the gallows are looming…
Set over the course of a few weeks that forever changed history, and for readers of Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood,
The Witching Tide “illuminates a dark historical period and cautions against its recreation” (
Kirkus Reviews).
- | Author: Margaret Meyer
- | Publisher: Scribner
- | Publication Date: Sep 05, 2023
- | Number of Pages:
- | Language: eng
- | Binding: Hardback
- | ISBN-13: 9781668011362
- | ISBN-10: 1668011360