Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Friday Finds (Dec 11)

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Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading asks us to share what great books we heard about or discovered in the past week.


My find for this week is a book called Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt. It will be released April 7, 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and here’s a bit about it from Amazon.com:

Daughters of the Witching Hill brings history to life in a vivid and wrenching account of a family sustained by love as they try to survive the hysteria of a witch-hunt.
Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic.
When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights.

Sharratt interweaves well-researched historical details of the 1612 Pendle witch-hunt with a beautifully imagined story of strong women, family, and betrayal. Daughters of Witching Hill is a powerful novel of intrigue and revelation.

Does that not sound good? It sure does to me. I love books having anything to do witches and witch-hunts. Lucky for me I will be participating in Mary Sharratt’s blog tour this April 2010. How about you – what did you find this week?

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  1. I had written it on my list, before I even read the wonderful write up. I love this style of book, I have always found the witch hunts and trials fascinating.

  7. It does sound interesting!

    If you like witchhunts have you ever read The Burning Times by Jeanne Kalogridis? I really liked it.

  11. Dar~this sounds so good! I recently finished The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and was slightly disappointed. I love this genre and I hope this will be really good one. I look forward to reading it. My recent find is In The Shadow of The Crown~Jean Plaidy. Great book so far!

  13. This sounds like a great book. I love books about witches and vampires! I added this to my goodreads list.

  16. I'm like you, Dar. I love reading books that have to do with witches and witch hunts. I hadn't heard of this one before. Thanks for giving me a heads up!

  19. This looks fabulous! I have to say that books related to this subject always intrigue me. I am so glad you hi-lighted it! Totally hitting my wish list!

    And it has been too long since I have been by! I love your background!

    Happy Saturday!

    Kelly

  20. I've never heard of 1612 Pendle Witch hunt, that's one of the reasons why I love historical fiction…learning new and interesting things. Sounds good, can't wait until you review it!

  21. This book sounds great. My Friday Find is a classic. As a writer who incorporates western landscapes in my books, I was excited to learn about Wallace Stegner from a friend. I just started reading Angle of Repose–an oldie, but goodie.

  22. I just read about this one. I soooo want to read it. I may be getting it for a magazine I review for. I'll keep my fingers crossed.