return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
twitter Bookmark and Share mail to a friend Email
   Summary and Book Reviews

Daughters of the Witching Hill: Summary and book reviews of Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt, plus links to an excerpt from Daughters of the Witching Hill and a biography of Mary Sharratt.

Daughters of the Witching Hill

Daughters of the Witching Hill
A Novel
by Mary Sharratt
Hardcover: Apr 2010,
352 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2011,
352 pages.

Publication information
Author Information
Critics' Opinion:   
Readers' Rating:  
About BookBrowse Rankings
Buy This Book

BOOK SUMMARY

Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic.

When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights.

Sharratt interweaves well-researched historical details of the 1612 Pendle witch-hunt with a beautifully imagined story of strong women, family, and betrayal. Daughters of the Witching Hill is a powerful novel of intrigue and revelation.
BookBrowse

As a reader, I learned about the use of religion as a means of control over the people ... at times, it reminded me of the current times, when we are becoming less tolerant of others who are not exactly like us. I encourage all to read this enchanting story as it will have a lasting effect on you showing how the world has changed and then really not changed over the last several hundred years. I recommend Daughters of the Witching Hill for book clubs as there is much to discuss and will definitely be recommending this to my friends, co-workers and our library's patrons who ask for "a good read".  (Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).

Full Review Members Only (1080 words).

Media Reviews

  Kirkus Reviews
Committed storytelling and visual detail mark this overlong but tightly wound historical.

  Library Journal
Starred Review. While not a quick read, this is a fascinating tale. The story unfolds without melodrama and is therefore all the more powerful.

  Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [T]his novel grows darker as it approaches its inevitable conclusion, but proves uplifting in its portrayal of women who persevere, and mothers and daughters who forgive.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Beverly J. (Huntersville, NC)
Ignorance Is Not Bliss
I was pulled into the story from the beginning despite knowing what the ending. The joy in this book is the telling of the story and the language describing the period. I very much enjoy a good historical fiction and once again Mary Sharratt does...   Read More

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Eileen
Daughters of the Witching Hill
Over the years I have had an interest in the persecution of perceived witches, based on their healing abilities, physical and mental illnesses, or their religious beliefs. This historical fiction was very enlightening. The main characters were...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Natalya M. (Medical Lake, WA)
A cunning novel of witchcraft
This book is a great historical fiction novel that puts together magic, religious persecution, and witch hunts. Bess Southerns a poor widow starts using her gifts to help those in her village. She teaches her cunning craft to her granddaughter...   Read More

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Chris (Wauwatosa, WI)
Daughters of the Witching Hill
I found this to be a very captivating book of historical fiction. It was difficult to put down right from the beginning as the author drew me into the life of Bess Southerns and her family. It's fascinating to think of the times of the witch...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Colleen T. (Lakewood, CO)
Daughters of the Witching Hill
An amazing story. The author's excellent writing style puts you in the story so you feel as though you are actually there. I recommend this book highly.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Jodie A. (CORPUS CHRISTI, TX)
Daughters of the Witching Hill
Although parts of this book moved a little slowly I enjoyed reading this book. The subject matter was very interesting and the characters were unique. It had a mystical quality to it and I felt like I was being drawn into a unique place and time in...   Read More

...13 More Reader Reviews

Mary Sharratt explains how she became a "Daughter of the Witching Hill"
In bleak midwinter 2002, I moved to rural Lancashire, in northern England, an incongruous place for an American expat. The first months were so oppressively dark, I felt I was trapped inside some claustrophobic gothic novel. But then came spring in a tide of bluebells and hawthorn. The wild Pennine landscape cast its spell on me.

Pendle Hill

I live at the foot of Pendle Hill, famous throughout the world as the place where George Fox received his vision that moved him to found the Quaker religion in 1652. But Pendle is also steeped in its legends of the Lancashire Witches.

In 1612, seven women and two men from Pendle Forest were hanged for witchcraft. The most notorious of the accused, Bess Southerns, aka Old Demdike, cheated the hangman by dying in prison. This...

Continued...  Beyond the Book (members only)

Readalikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Daughters of the Witching Hill, try these:


The Heretic's Daughter
by Kathleen Kent

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. The Heretic's Daughter tells her story; a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
by Katherine Howe

A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history - the Salem witch trials.


These are 2 of the 5 readalike suggestions for Daughters of the Witching Hill. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.


Become a Member
The Leftovers
Editor's Choice
  •  May 22 
  •  May 20 
  •  May 18 
Lehrter Station
David Downing
Lehrter Station Jacket WWII has ended… But the danger has just begun for a spy caught between political superpowers.
All Woman and Springtime
Brandon W. Jones
All Woman and Springtime Jacket This spellbinding debut, reminiscent of Memoirs of a Geisha, depicts, with chilling accuracy, life behind North Korea's iron curtain.
Birdseye
Mark Kurlansky
Birdseye Jacket The first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
A Land More Kind Than Home
Wiley Cash
A Land More Kind Than Home Jacket A mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.
Blue Asylum
Kathy Hepinstall
Blue Asylum Jacket In the midst of the American Civil War, a southern plantation owner's wife is arrested by her husband and declared insane for interfering with his slaves. She is sent to an island mental asylum to...
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Why "Fifty Shades of Grey" Is So Successful
Summer 2012: Movies Based on Books
Following the Thread - Great Book Design
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
The Butterfly Cabinet
  Latest BookBrowse News
Cellphone company Orange drops sponsorship of UK Women's Prize for Fiction (May 22 2012)
Cellphone company Orange has announced that it will no longer be supporting the UK based Women's Prize for Fiction, which it has sponsored since the award was... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Have you bought a book in any of these stores in the last 3 months?
Walmart
Costco
Sam's Club
Any other warehouse store
Any other bricks & mortar location that isn't a bookstore
None of these
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club
More about
Next to Love
Join the discussion!

BookBrowse Showcase
visit showcase now!
Advertise Here

First Impressions
Members Recommend:
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
4.5 Stars
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar
by Suzanne Joinson
Four Stars
Afterwards
by Rosamund Lupton
4.5 Stars
The Secrets of Mary Bowser
by Lois Leveen
Five Stars
The Voluntourist
by Ken Budd
3.5 Stars
A Simple Murder
by Eleanor Kuhns
Four Stars
more...


Win This Book!
Mercy Train

Mercy Train jacket

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"S T Pass I T N"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Isabel Allende
Alice Hoffman
Mark Seal
Charlotte Rogan
frame bottom
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Libraries | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us