This book was lent to me when I was in the middle of The
Stand, and when I’d finished that I wanted something far more easy going, so
this book got relegated to the bottom of the pile. Having now caught myself up,
this was the next one to read.
If you can’t tell from the above paragraph, I wasn’t really
dying to read this. I’ve never got on with Jeanette Winterson. People rave
about her and I just don’t get her, her writing largely leaves me cold. Now to
be fair, in this book, I was impressed with some of her descriptions of people
and places. I felt there was worth to them. To the actual plot – I’m not so
sure.
It’s based on the true events of the Pendle Witches in
Lancashire in 1612. Last year was the 400th anniversary of these
events, and so Winterson wrote this novella. Her descriptions of the
environment and the events are good, creating a real sense of 17th
century rural Lancashire. It was interesting to have the two-fold fears of
witchcraft and Catholicism brought together so succinctly, and to learn about
an event which is apparently so famous but which I’ve never heard of before now.
It was also a quick read, which is always nice when you’ve set yourself a
target of 80 within the year!
Ultimately, though, it lacked soul for me. I didn’t care for
or about any of the characters, perhaps because it was clear they were going to
die pretty quickly. Roger Nowell was about the most interesting character in my
opinion. Alice Nutter was admirable in her actions, but not drawn in enough
detail for me to be that interested.
The historical event is worth reading into, not least
because it shows how easily fear can be whipped up into something more
(something the Daily Mail still plays on today), but unless you really like
witches, Jeanette Winterson or both, I’d probably skip this.
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