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These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. This book will definitely make you think about the events that took place in it. I'm still thinking about those poor women. Especially Prissy. There’s also the Justice for Witches campaign in Scotland, which is a social justice/reparative justice movement led by two women who are solicitors. I also think there’s an ongoing fascination with the figure of the witch as a kind of archetype. She’s always been an powerful figure. On the one hand on the margins of society, for whatever reason, but still able to have power over it. So that’s a sometimes fearful but fascinating figure.
The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer - Books - Hachette The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer - Books - Hachette
We are repugnant to Nature, contumely to God; We are monstrous, legion; We are too many, We are never enough." The Witching Tide, a story about witch hunting in the 17th Century, is what I want historical fiction to be. Not just well written, but also enlightening. It’s a reminder that men held all the power and when things go wrong, it’s women that bear the pain. Even the drunkards’ words held more sway than a sober woman. Being rich provided no safety net. Even a careless remark by a priest could land him in hot water.
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Immersive… The author offers a stirring depiction of the selfishness, revenge, and fear behind the accusations. This evocative narrative is sure to pique readers’ curiosity about the witch trials.” — Publishers Weekly I haven’t read any books like this one before - it is written in the 17th century regarding the hunt for witches in a small seaside village called Clearwater. In desperation, she revives a witching doll that she inherited from her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll's true powers are unknowable, the tide is turning, and time is running out . . .
The Witching Tide | Goldsboro Books The Witching Tide | Goldsboro Books
In the time this book is set, disability can be a death sentence for one of a hundred reasons, and Meyer really shows ... the importance and value of compassion and social responsibility. ... This was my favorite aspect of the book and the primary reason I recommend the read. Such well drawn characters!
Table of Contents
He looked uncertainly at her, then past her. His expression hardened, decided itself. “Rest here a while,” he said. “Mistress Agnes is still abed. Simon and I will see about Prissy.” Martha is marginalised by her muteness. She communicates solely by ‘shaping’: hand gestures and signs, understandable to those who know her, but baffling to strangers. Her hands ‘must talk for her’. Italicised text has been substituted for dialogue, so the reader is always aware of what Martha struggles to communicate.
The Witching Tide: The powerful and gripping debut novel for
One Autumn morning, the peaceful atmosphere of Cleftwater is shattered by a sinister arrival and Martha becomes a silent witness to a witch-hunt. As a trusted member of the community, she is enlisted to search the bodies of the accused women. But whilst Martha wants to help her friends, she also harbours a dark secret that could cost her own freedom. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that she inherited from her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, the tide is turning, and time is running out . . .
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MM: Yes, poppet is a term of endearment. I’m slightly playing with that as well. In fact, the original working title of the book was The Celftwater Poppets: you know that idea of the little poppet darling women. It’s demeaning. MM: It was a surprise to me. And it was an enigma to me for a really, really long time. And it still is, really. A timely, visceral novel that hurls the reader into a claustrophobic rural community riddled with suspicion, fear and recrimination. Margaret Meyer expertly creates an atmosphere of creeping dread, where no one is safe, and women find themselves punished for their own misfortunes and those of their erstwhile friends and neighbours." - Natalie Haynes The Witching Tide is published by Phoenix. Margaret Meyer will be speaking about her book at Woodbridge Library on Tuesday July 4 at 7.30pm. Information at moreaboutbooks.com
The Witching Tide: A Novel: Meyer, Margaret: 9781668011362 The Witching Tide: A Novel: Meyer, Margaret: 9781668011362
This was a short but fascinating look at how women, even those in relatively safe positions in their communities, were brutally beaten down during the witch hunts. From a psychological perspective, it was really interesting to see characters holding extremely varied opinions on the hunt and trials, although I had a troubled relationship with the ending (and really everything about the stupid poppet). East Anglia England Martha Hallybread was a midwife, healer & servant to Christopher ( AKA Kit ) she was born mute & has lived in her home town of Clearwater a coastal town, where everyone knew Martha but never heard her. Martha Hallybread is a healer, specializing in midwifery. She is also mute and values her role as servant for the man she raised and his new wife. She is often called upon to assist in births but the folks in her village are a superstitious lot and it doesn’t take much to turn their minds. When a witch-finder comes to their village, Martha is forced to take on a role that will betray other women she cares about. Loyalty, friendship, love – it’s all here and how it plays out is a harrowing, heart-wrenching story. From its open mouth she thought she heard a tiny leaking – a sinister, persuasive hum . . . The doll seemed to cling to her skin. Mam had taught how a left eye was the witching eye, able to see things not readily visible but present nonetheless. stars for a job well done! In my opinion, all the characters got their fair share of voices and the plot was very interesting!Ah, I loved this book so much. There’s something about the events of this time that both fascinate and repulse me. I love to read about the day-to-day life of this time; it appeals to me and is one of things I love most about historical fiction. The addition of the East Anglian witch hunt gives a haunting look at the murders that occurred puts a tarnish on the time and reflects the fault in human nature for what it was. The ignorance and fear that could be evoked in the simplest of things – a birth mark, a misspoken word, or a bitter vendetta – each leading to something horrific, that of being labeled a witch. A death sentence in these times. Claire Mabey: Margaret, I’m excited to talk to you. I was fascinated by your novel. Can you tell me how the idea for it first arrived to you?
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