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A review by booklane
The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A dark account of the Manningtree witch trials
As I approached The Manningtree Witches, I was wondering how it would be different from other novels that fictionalize witch trials as, after all, the plot is often very similar. I can gladly say this novel did not disappoint me.
The Manningtree Witches, which relies on historical characters and records, focuses on the first victims of the massive witch hunts that took place in Essex during the English Civil War and claimed up to 300 lives. We are in Manningtree during the English Civil War, precisely in the period 1645-1647, and from the very start we get glimpses of the effects of war, such hunger and poverty, particularly on widowed or defenseless women. The Puritan influence in the area is strong, but as the self-appointed Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, a somber, pious figure dressed in black, settles in Manningtree bringing an atmosphere of menace and suspicion to the place, his search for sinfulness gives a pretext to mount accusations toward a group of women living on the fringes of society, their dirty rags and deformed bodies in sharp contrast with Puritan cleanliness and their curses, drunken “anarchic laughter” and bawdy language as their only weapon.
Most characters are wonderfully complex: from the multi-faceted Witchfinder, half-opportunist half-believer for whom sexual excitement mingles with religious zeal, to the formidable cast of women. Among these, the focus is on the young Rebecca West, who is in love with the scribbler who catechizes her and whose point of view provides the most valuable insights into this world: as she ponders her place in society, her alleged sinfulness and marginality she fully understands what counts as holy, the equation between damnation and poverty and the way witchcraft can give women a language and an identity. For this reason, the novel is also a feminist study in character development and a quest for a place in the world and a language that differs from the pattern of violence and damnation that is handed down from mother to daughter (“the violence of my mother’s tale”).
Other than giving a voice to forgotten victims, the novel also successfully exposes the mechanisms of power formation, how the social tissue is weakened as mobs are manipulated, women are scapegoated and mothers and daughter are set against each other. It captures how witch hunts intersected with the historical climate and were exploited in the wider context to uphold and consolidate Puritan values and power.
When I started to read this novel, which I did without knowing anything about the author, my very first thought was that it must be written by a poet, as the prose is wonderfully dark, immersive, rich and mesmerizing. In many chapters the sensation of threat and menace was palpable, and I felt as if I was stepping into some Dutch painting and the painting was coming alive with its vibrant details, the rays of light and sombre shadows, the putrid smells, be it public house, dingy interior, church pew, or street. The command of archaic words and the colourful expressions woven in the scintillating dialogues makes for a wonderful reading experience. A highly recommended read, dark, tense, captivating and informative.
I am grateful to Netgalley and Granta for my ARC in exchange for an honest review (l
As I approached The Manningtree Witches, I was wondering how it would be different from other novels that fictionalize witch trials as, after all, the plot is often very similar. I can gladly say this novel did not disappoint me.
The Manningtree Witches, which relies on historical characters and records, focuses on the first victims of the massive witch hunts that took place in Essex during the English Civil War and claimed up to 300 lives. We are in Manningtree during the English Civil War, precisely in the period 1645-1647, and from the very start we get glimpses of the effects of war, such hunger and poverty, particularly on widowed or defenseless women. The Puritan influence in the area is strong, but as the self-appointed Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, a somber, pious figure dressed in black, settles in Manningtree bringing an atmosphere of menace and suspicion to the place, his search for sinfulness gives a pretext to mount accusations toward a group of women living on the fringes of society, their dirty rags and deformed bodies in sharp contrast with Puritan cleanliness and their curses, drunken “anarchic laughter” and bawdy language as their only weapon.
Most characters are wonderfully complex: from the multi-faceted Witchfinder, half-opportunist half-believer for whom sexual excitement mingles with religious zeal, to the formidable cast of women. Among these, the focus is on the young Rebecca West, who is in love with the scribbler who catechizes her and whose point of view provides the most valuable insights into this world: as she ponders her place in society, her alleged sinfulness and marginality she fully understands what counts as holy, the equation between damnation and poverty and the way witchcraft can give women a language and an identity. For this reason, the novel is also a feminist study in character development and a quest for a place in the world and a language that differs from the pattern of violence and damnation that is handed down from mother to daughter (“the violence of my mother’s tale”).
Other than giving a voice to forgotten victims, the novel also successfully exposes the mechanisms of power formation, how the social tissue is weakened as mobs are manipulated, women are scapegoated and mothers and daughter are set against each other. It captures how witch hunts intersected with the historical climate and were exploited in the wider context to uphold and consolidate Puritan values and power.
When I started to read this novel, which I did without knowing anything about the author, my very first thought was that it must be written by a poet, as the prose is wonderfully dark, immersive, rich and mesmerizing. In many chapters the sensation of threat and menace was palpable, and I felt as if I was stepping into some Dutch painting and the painting was coming alive with its vibrant details, the rays of light and sombre shadows, the putrid smells, be it public house, dingy interior, church pew, or street. The command of archaic words and the colourful expressions woven in the scintillating dialogues makes for a wonderful reading experience. A highly recommended read, dark, tense, captivating and informative.
I am grateful to Netgalley and Granta for my ARC in exchange for an honest review (l