The Bewitching

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What to expect

A dazzling, shocking novel that speaks to our times, drawing on the 16th-century case of the witches of Warboys.

Alice Samuel might be old and sharp-tongued, but she's no fool. Visiting her new neighbours in her Fenland village, she suspects Squire Throckmorton's household is not as God-fearing as it seems and finds the children troubled. What she cannot foresee is that all five daughters will succumb in turn to a terrifying affliction and accuse her of witchcraft - who else to blame than an ugly, black-capped woman with mysterious healing skills?

The Throckmortons' maid Martha, uncomfortably aware of strange goings-on in the household herself, is reluctant to believe that Alice is a witch. Yet visiting scholars attracted by the news are convinced, evidence mounts and soon the entire village is swept up in the frenzied persecution of one of their own community.

Exploring a neglected episode in English history to powerful effect, The Bewitching chillingly conveys the brutal tribalism that can erupt in a closed society and how victims can be made to believe in their own wickedness.

(P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

Novels about witch-hunts are not rare beasts, but The Bewitching, which is based on the true story of the witches of Warboys, is a particularly fine example. Tension builds, events spiral out of control and it builds to a devastating finale
The Times
In this literary page-turner, Jill Dawson brings vividly to the page the chilling tale of the witches of Warboys . . . a compulsive and thought-provoking account of guilt and persecution
Paula Hawkins
Jill Dawson enters thoroughly into her characters' religious world view, while giving a meaningful glance at the issues of today . . . she colours in the crude woodcut of history with passionate emotions and plausible motivations . . . And what more easy way to stifle an obstreperous woman's accusations than to accuse her first? Dawson's vivid retelling doesn't leave us with any comforting notion that human nature has advanced much
Spectator
This well-researched historical novel weaves history and literary fiction to powerful, chilling effect
Daily Express
[A] finely tuned tale about power and persecution
i
Alice, demonised for being outspoken, is a timeless female archetype, rendered with great skill by Dawson . . . a terrific piece of storytelling, immersed in its period but rich in resonance for the Twitter generation
Mail on Sunday
A deeply satisfying and highly feminist novel . . . Jill Dawson has a knack for putting you right in the time and place, dousing you in terrified concern and setting you alight. Highly recommended
Louisa Young
An important novel which gave me fresh insight into the wicked mechanism of misogyny. The truth and sadness of it is breathtaking, and the writing is just wonderful
Sadie Jones
Novels about witches - or, alternatively, women scapegoated, silenced and shunned - have flourished in recent years, but Dawson's is a cut above and cumulative in its emotional heft, being also an empathic examination of internalised misogyny and shame. And while its uncompromising denouement feels inevitable, a coda flares with reclaimed agency and even joy
Daily Mail
She crafts magic out of darkness and light. Nothing evokes the past as vividly as her deft prose. Dark as The Bewitching is, with its uncanny echoes of our own times, we know we are safe in her superb, story-telling hands
Philip Hoare
Profoundly involving, vivid and new . . . she brings all a poet's skill for the seductive texture of life to a breathlessly exciting narrative
Christobel Kent
A magnificent writer. I would read her shopping lists
Cathy Rentzenbrink
Set in the 16th century, The Bewitching by Jill Dawson promises a powerful and chilling tale of witchcraft and persecution from one of our most skilful and absorbing storytellers
Daily Mail
A fascinating and deeply disturbing tale of witchcraft, male power, and the age-old fear of women
Caitlin Davies
This powerful novel seizes the reader from the first page . . . With her gift for penetrating into peoples' motives and silences Jill Dawson here succeeds in awakening the reality of long-past events
Gillian Beer
So atmospheric and very convincing - Martha is a wonderful character. It's beautifully imagined and written
Kate Pullinger
A vivid retelling of the true story of Alice Samuel . . . From the first farcical accusation to the novel's tragic denouement, the plot unfolds with the unrelenting pace of a psychological thriller . . . From a modern perspective, a perplexing feature of historic accounts of witchcraft trials is not so much why accused women confessed to their alleged crimes, but why they did so in such extravagant detail. Dawson does not shy away from this puzzle and her depiction of Alice Samuel's trial, drawn from contemporary accounts, is as plausible as it is harrowing
FT
The novel evokes the language of the time through occasional period words and phrases without risking obscurity. Its complex plot involves a host of robustly drawn characters, with Alice herself and Robert's servant Martha mainly providing our perspectives on the events . . . [The Bewitching] handles its material with panache, and has real slow-burning power and pace
Guardian

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