Cunning Women - Book Review
Book Review
1620s Lancashire. Away from the village lies a small hamlet, abandoned since the Plague, where only one family dwells amongst its ruins. Young Sarah Haworth, her mother, brother and little sister Annie are a family of outcasts by day and the recipients of visitors by night. They are cunning folk: the villagers will always need them, quick with a healing balm or more, should the need arise. They can keep secrets too, because no one would believe them anyway.
When Sarah spies a young man taming a wild horse, she risks being caught to watch him calm the animal. And when Daniel sees Sarah he does not just see a strange, dirty thing, he sees her for who she really is: a strong creature about to come into her own. But can something as fragile as love blossom between these two in such a place as this?
When a new magistrate arrives to investigate the strange ends that keep befalling the villagers, he has his eye on one family alone. And a torch in his hand.
Cunning Women is the powerful reckoning of a young woman with her wildness, a heartbreaking tale of young love and a shattering story of the intolerance that reigned during the long shadow of the Pendle Witch Trials, when those who did not conform found persecution at every door.
When I heard about this book, I had everything crossed and wished I received a proof copy and did a happy dance when I did!!! Just look at how stunning the cover is. 😀
The novel is set around a rural village in Lancashire in the 17th century in historical times where just being a women has it dangers. The novel surrounds Sarah and her family who are an outcast witch family who survive by begging and treating people with remedies. All possess a birthmark apart from brother John, but the family try and stay away unless people come for help. However if anything goes wrong or awry the family are the first to be blamed and the new magistrate only adds fuel and misgivings to the family. Daniel and his father are local farmers and higher up on the presumed social scale.
What I really enjoyed was the it made you questioned how much was witchcraft and how much revolved around belief and how did this thought affect Sarah, her family and the community.
The focus of characters is Sarah and Daniel and it is beautifully written, you can sense their power, strength, tragic romance and even self doubt. They both fell fiercely in love until Daniels betrayal. It would have been nice to read a bit more at the start of a friendship but nonetheless once the character and story started to unfold it was ok. You come to learn about the superstition, discrimination and prejudice they have to face. Sarah character is promising as she wants to escape her current life for a more conventional one but it is not a straight forward feat. I really enjoyed exploring Sarah character, you come to learn how devoted and protective she is about her family, and her strong personalty against odds was admirable and even relevant to today.
It was atmospherically and beautifully written with such amazing descriptions that i felt transported back in time. Such a magical book to read as it is full of emotions. It was slow to start with but once you get going and learn more about the characters and the magistrate the tension ramps up. I really enjoyed reading a different genre than my normal reads.
I'm really looking forward to reading more books from the author.
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