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quiet_reader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexism, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Slavery, Trafficking, Torture, and War
anastasiamakes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
If you liked The Crucible, I think you'll like this. It follows a fictionalised account of real occurances and characters during the 'Witch Craze' of the English Civil War, and has a very "classic" style of writing - which didn't work for me but I'm sure some people would love. You can definitely tell the author is a poet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Classism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide, War, Miscarriage, Slavery, Sexual content, and Animal death
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In this novel, Blakemore expertly explores the particular misogynist menace of the witch-hunt. This book is clearly thoroughly researched and based on an abundance of facts. The primary villain, Matthew Hopkins, is a fictionalized version of a real 17th-century witch-hunter with the same name. In the pages of this novel and in real life, many women were accused of witchcraft for purely arbitrary reasons. The only common denominator seems to have been that they were all poor or otherwise living on society's margins. What a dark and awful time in world history.
I readily admit that the subject of Manningtree Witches is fascinating. The execution of the story itself, however, left a bit to be desired. For a book about witches and Puritanical fervor, there is little... excitement. Instead, there is a lot of incredibly period-appropriate sad detail. While reading, I frequently found myself bored. After making it to the end, all I could think was "that's it?!" I wanted more characterization of the accused women beyond Rebecca, the protagonist. I also would have loved a little bit more paranormal activity.
Ultimately, I'm not upset to have read this book - which is very beautifully written. I'm just reminded of how historical fiction is not one of my favorite genres.
I readily admit that the subject of Manningtree Witches is fascinating. The execution of the story itself, however, left a bit to be desired. For a book about witches and Puritanical fervor, there is little... excitement. Instead, there is a lot of incredibly period-appropriate sad detail. While reading, I frequently found myself bored. After making it to the end, all I could think was "that's it?!" I wanted more characterization of the accused women beyond Rebecca, the protagonist. I also would have loved a little bit more paranormal activity.
Ultimately, I'm not upset to have read this book - which is very beautifully written. I'm just reminded of how historical fiction is not one of my favorite genres.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Classism
amelreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Murder, Misogyny, Classism, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Racism, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: War and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore 👹
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🧙♀️ The plot: Manningtree, Kent, 1644. War and famine breed poverty and superstition across England. When the Witchfinder, Matthew Hopkins, comes to town, telling tales of women who can be in two places at once and bargain with the Devil for misfortune to befall their neighbours, Rebecca West finds herself suspected. What must she do to survive?
When I think of witch trials, I think of Salem, Massachusetts and pilgrims in tall hats. But like many terrible things from history, they were a British export. This novel brings to life the witch hunting hysteria that took place in England 50 years before the trials in Salem, vividly conjuring the material and religious conditions that led to this brutality.
It's rare to read a book about historical injustices against women and not feel the contemporary gaze intruding on the narrative. But here, you quickly become entrenched in the fearful logic of this community - in fact, you feel its pull all the stronger for your awareness that it's wrong. Living through war and famine, it makes a tragic kind of sense that, if there is a providential God who rewards the righteous, then poverty and misfortune look like evidence of sin. The fortunate clutch their fortunes all the tighter; the most vulnerable, usually women, are mistrusted, blamed, killed. It's what makes Hopkins such a successful villain, because you see how he gains power while remaining as flawed and fragile as everyone else.
Belief and self-deception are big themes and for the most part I thought they were brilliantly executed, but there were a couple of moments where it seemed like you were meant to question if witchcraft had been real the whole time which was a bit jarring to me. The use of decorous language also went OTT at times - mostly it helped to make it feel vividly like the past, but sometimes it was like being beaten over the head with a thesaurus.
🐈⬛ Read it if you like vivid prose, social commentary, twisted villains and protagonists with great character development.
🚫 Avoid if you hate over-descriptive language or if you want a really plot-driven read.
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🧙♀️ The plot: Manningtree, Kent, 1644. War and famine breed poverty and superstition across England. When the Witchfinder, Matthew Hopkins, comes to town, telling tales of women who can be in two places at once and bargain with the Devil for misfortune to befall their neighbours, Rebecca West finds herself suspected. What must she do to survive?
When I think of witch trials, I think of Salem, Massachusetts and pilgrims in tall hats. But like many terrible things from history, they were a British export. This novel brings to life the witch hunting hysteria that took place in England 50 years before the trials in Salem, vividly conjuring the material and religious conditions that led to this brutality.
It's rare to read a book about historical injustices against women and not feel the contemporary gaze intruding on the narrative. But here, you quickly become entrenched in the fearful logic of this community - in fact, you feel its pull all the stronger for your awareness that it's wrong. Living through war and famine, it makes a tragic kind of sense that, if there is a providential God who rewards the righteous, then poverty and misfortune look like evidence of sin. The fortunate clutch their fortunes all the tighter; the most vulnerable, usually women, are mistrusted, blamed, killed. It's what makes Hopkins such a successful villain, because you see how he gains power while remaining as flawed and fragile as everyone else.
Belief and self-deception are big themes and for the most part I thought they were brilliantly executed, but there were a couple of moments where it seemed like you were meant to question if witchcraft had been real the whole time which was a bit jarring to me. The use of decorous language also went OTT at times - mostly it helped to make it feel vividly like the past, but sometimes it was like being beaten over the head with a thesaurus.
🐈⬛ Read it if you like vivid prose, social commentary, twisted villains and protagonists with great character development.
🚫 Avoid if you hate over-descriptive language or if you want a really plot-driven read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Blood, Religious bigotry, Torture, Animal death, Classism, Death, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Violence
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