'It has been waiting in the dark, Matthews history
our history
Now i must turn over the stone: that you might see it
wriggling to escape'
This book is set in 1645 in Essex and loosely based upon the true story of Matthew Hopkins- self proclaimed Witch finder General.
Matthew Hopkins set himself the task of hunting down and torturing women he claimed were witches in the 17th Century. It is estimated that he was responsible for the death of over 200 women in the East Anglia region of England over an 18 month period.
I was instantly drawn to this book as i love Historical fiction.
I didn't realise when i picked it that the character was based on a true story and i love the fact that Beth Underdown gave Matthew a character and a background that the historical facts do not.
There are books where his methods of work are explored which i will list below but what Beth Underdown has done in the Witch finders sister is explore who Matthew Hopkins was as a person and how his childhood experiences and his family secrets could have influenced his obsession of Witches, imps and the devil.
The narrator of the story is Matthew's sister Alice.
Alice as a character is, i think, quite basic but that for me as a reader is fine because the intrigue lies with Matthew.
Contrary to other books on him ,this books explores the idea that the beliefs that Matthew had could be based on a fear of superstition and the devils work and a real threat of danger rather than just being an over-zealous witch hunter who profited from visiting towns and villages ridding them of witches.
This book also highlights very well how mental illness sufferers and people with lesser intelligence and elderly single or widowed women were viewed in this time and how much control the local community had on how people were treated.
knowing in the back of my mind that Matthews methods of extracting information and evidence are based on fact made this story even more tense and a little bit terrifying...
To summarise I absolutely loved this book, it had me immersed into the story right from the first chapter and I honestly couldn't put it down. It has a fabulous twist at the end which i hope may hint at a sequel.
So if you love historical fiction with lashings of suspense, with family secrets and characters where as you read you are constantly questioning your own perception of them.
If you love writing that feels you with sadness because you know that there were poor women who suffered these injustices then the Witch Finders sister is perfect for you.
The Witch Finders Sister is Available at Amazon in Hardback, paperback, Kindle and Audio book here
Further recommended reading on Matthew Hopkins and the Witch trials are here
Witch hunters- A Seventeenth century English Tragedy by Malcolm Gaskill can be purchased here
The Essex Witch Trials by Philip Kellingway in which testimony from Matthew and the accused can be read from the trials in Chelmsford in 1645 which can be purchased here
Please feel free to leave me any comments on your thoughts about this book.
This post contains affiliate links to Amazon
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Comments
Post a Comment