The powerlessness of the accused women and the hopelessness of their plights is rendered in harrowing, unsparing detail. It would be difficult to read The Witching Tide and not be emotionally affected by the monstrous injustices perpetrated on Martha and the other accused women. One autumn morning, a sinister newcomer appears in town. The witchfinder, Silas Makepeace, has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and now has Cleftwater in his sights. His arrival strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being captured and detained, and Martha finds herself a silent witness to the hunt.

The Witching Tide: A Novel: Meyer, Margaret: 9781668011362 The Witching Tide: A Novel: Meyer, Margaret: 9781668011362

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.Gone Prissy. Taken Prissy. They had wrenched her from here so roughly, from her hearth and her home, Prissy’s hard-won places. Everywhere there were reminders. Proving bread dough in a bowl in the hearth embers. Gold hairs, glinting from the floor rushes. 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. Set in the 17th century, The Witching Tide set in a sleepy coastal village in East Anglia, follows Martha the village midwife and herbal healer who is also mute, and the upheaval of the village when a witchfinder arrives on the hunt for witches leaving very few of the local women safe from his hunting. Having read a few books within this genre, I felt the Witching Tide bought a compelling story that will certainly draw on your heartstrings, invoke anger and sadness in equal parts, and is historically accurate in the persecution methods of 17th century witchfinders. As well as highlighting how the patriarchy played a big part in the historical persecution of women as witches. I recommend if this genre of books is your kind of thing.

The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer: Haunting, harrowing and

Her small fishing community is rife with rumours and speculation, no woman exempt from suspicion. Misogyny, mistrust and malice smoulder. Tale-tellers and grudge-keepers queue for an audience with the witch-hunter to dob in neighbours, dividing the community. 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. The Witching Tide takes place during the mid-17th century in a small seaside town in England at the height of the witch hunts. The town thinks itself insulated from the darkness sweeping England, until the witch hunter arrives and begins arresting women all thought innocent of evil. Martha, and elderly servant and midwife, finds herself caught in the middle of the examiners, attempting to both help her friends while also hiding her own secrets from the accusers. 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 . . .Phoenix has swooped in a seven-way auction for The Witching Tide, a “magnificent” debut by Margaret Meyer. The Witching Tide takes place in the 1600's in a small village where chaos comes to reign. The story centers around Martha Hallybread, who is known for her caregiving to the residents with her herbs and helping welcome new babies into this world. She is also house servant to Kit and his wife Agnes. Martha has known Kit since birth and feels very maternal toward him, considering him the son she never had. Agnes is getting ready to give birth herself so it should be a happy time in the household.