I first fell in love with Lauren Groff's writing with her 2006 Atlantic short story "L. DeBard and Aliette." It has stuck with me since I first read it in graduate school, yet for some reason I haven't actually read any of her novels until The Vaster Wilds (Matrix has been on my to-read list… Continue reading Review: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee is set in 1620 in Lancashire and follows Sarah, a young woman from an outcast and destitute family known for their "cunning." Each woman in her family is marked by the devil, has a familiar, and has knowledge of herblore to make and sell remedies to the nearby village that… Continue reading Review: Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch is loosely based on the true story of Katherina Kepler, an elderly woman in accused of witchcraft in early 17th century Württemberg. The book shifts perspectives and styles in conveying the "investigation" and trial of Katherina. We get much of the story from Simon, Katherina's neighbor who is… Continue reading Review: Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Beheld is an insular, quickly-paced novel of Plymouth Puritans in the 17th century. The story is predominantly told is brief, vignette-type chapters from the points of view of Alice Bradford, the governor's wife, and Eleanor Billington, a non-Puritan resident of Plymouth whose husband gets caught up in a murder scandal. The Puritans and non-Puritans are… Continue reading Review: Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell is a novel about William Shakespeare and his family without ever saying the name William Shakespeare. Instead, Maggie O' Farrell weaves a world of natural wonder and splendor, as well as an acknowledgment of the unseen, through the eyes of Agnes (history knows her as Anne Hathaway) and their children Susanna,… Continue reading Review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters follows Jayne Swift, a pioneering physician navigating the English Civil War. The book opens in Dorset in 1642 and progresses through the years of the war. Okay, full disclosure, I gave up half way through. There are just too many books on my to-read to waste my… Continue reading Review: The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters
Set in 1689 New England, Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman follows Ruth Miner, a young woman accused of Witchcraft after the death of her family. After being ostracized from her community, Ruth sets out on her own to reconnect with childhood friend Owen Townsend for help. Serving as the first mate of… Continue reading Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman
Daughter of the King by Kerry Chaput follows French Huguenot (Protestant) Isabelle Collete as she continually fights for survival in a Catholic country. Opening in La Rochelle, France in 1661, Isabelle and her mother are all that remain of their family. Huguenots are being persecuted, tortured, and killed in the streets. Everyday, Isabelle walks the… Continue reading Review: Daughter of the King by Kerry Chaput
The Highland Witch (entitled Corrag or Witch's Light in some countries) by Susan Fletcher is based on the events of the 1692 Glencoe Massacre of Clan MacDonald, told from the perspective of a outsider named Corrag. The massacre occured after the MacDonald Clan swore their oath (albeit by a forced hand) to King William "too… Continue reading Review: The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher
Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures by Kathryn Brewster Haueisen straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction in telling the intertwining stories of the English religious rebels and the Pokanoket people and how these cultures clashed. There are two interesting points about the author, Kathryn Brewster Haueisen. She is the descendant of the… Continue reading Review: Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures by Kathryn Brewster Haueisen
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