Cunning Women

A feminist tale of forbidden love after the witch trials

Elizabeth Lee

- 3.9 • 14 Ratings

- £5.99

- £5.99

ONE OF GRAZIA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2021

'I loved it. Atmospheric and so good' MARIAN KEYES
'A dark, bewitching and captivating read that had my heart in my mouth by the ending' JENNIFER SAINT, author of ARIADNE

Lancashire, 1620. Young Sarah Haworth and her family live as outcasts. They are 'cunning folk', feared by the local villagers by day, but called upon under cover of darkness for healing balms and spells.

Against the odds, love blossoms when Sarah meets Daniel, the local farmer's son.

But when a new magistrate arrives to investigate a spate of strange deaths, his gaze inevitably turns to Sarah and her family. In a world where cunning women are forced into darkness by powerful men, can Sarah reckon with her fate to protect all she holds dear?

'Fans of intensely atmospheric historical fiction will love this' STYLIST
'Elizabeth Lee's debut novel is timely in its depiction of hysteria and persecution, and beautifully evokes a historical period poised between dark ignorance and long-overdue enlightenment' OBSERVER
'Wonderfully original . . . devastating . . . and fabulously atmospheric' ELODIE HARPER, author of THE WOLF DEN

APPLE BOOKS REVIEW

This very believable tale of a witch family set less than a decade after the infamous Pendle witch trials of 1612 sits firmly in the historical fiction genre rather than fantasy. It’s a slow-burner that allows Lee to flesh out her characters and ramp up the tension as star-crossed lovers Sarah and Daniel overcome various obstacles in their fledgling relationship—namely, bad blood between their families, the fact that Sarah and her mother have both been shunned by their community, and a new magistrate whose ruthlessness looks set to turn an already fractured community even further against each other—and particularly against ‘cunning women’ like Sarah and her mother. There are harrowing moments, but it is a nonetheless captivating read on love, superstition, and the sometimes horrifying treatment suffered by women of the time.

GENRE