Guest Post by February's Book of the Month winner, Blythe Gifford.

Blythe Gifford kindly shares with us 
a post previously posted in 
"Unusual Histories" in 2013

Blythe Gifford
(Author photo by Jennifer Girard)

The King and The Pricker: Witch Hunting in Scotland

While the English "witch finder" Matthew Hopkins and the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials may be more familiar to many readers, some of the most horrific witch hunts of the 16th-17th centuries took place in Scotland. Several waves of witch hunting washed through the country over a period of roughly 200 years, resulting in a total of some 1,500 deaths, compared to perhaps 1,000 in England. Other estimates are that Scotland, with a quarter of England's population, executed three times the number of witches as England did.

There is much speculation and little certainty about exactly why that is so. I'll withhold theories, but today, I'd like to focus on two peculiarly Scottish contributions to the history of witch hunting: first, the direct involvement of the king and second, the phenomenon known as the "witch pricker."

Portrait of the Scottish King James VI
Painted by Nicholas Hilliard

The Scottish King James VI (son of Mary, Queen of Scots and later crowned as England's King James I), was obsessed with witchcraft, so much so that he authored an eighty page treatise on the subject, Daemonologie, in 1597. Although witchcraft in Scotland had been illegal and punishable by death since 1563, the persecution of witches did not really take hold until the king made it a personal crusade. (Among his "contributions" to the cause was to authorize torture.)

Why was he so obsessed? Because he was, for a time, convinced he had been a victim of witchcraft. During a visit to Denmark, home of his future bride, Ann of Denmark, he is said to have been exposed to a theory of witchcraft not yet prevalent in Scotland, one that focused on demonic compacts and groups of witches working together in league with Satan. This idea must have weighed on his mind as several rough sea crossings nearly prevented Anne and James from returning to Scotland alive. The Danish admiral blamed witches for working black magic against the royal couple. The king must have believed him, for soon persecutions in both countries began, and the accused included nobles of the Scottish court.

The title page of King James I's
Daemonologie in Forme of a Dialogue

Across a multi-year period, from 1590-93, the investigation culminated with the execution of
around 70 witches in North Berwick. The king took a personal interest in the trials, and even in the torture of some of the women. And interestingly, the charges included treason as well as witchcraft, indicating that the king believed he had personally been a target and the crime not only a religious, but a civil one. His subsequent authorship of the Daemonologie placed him firmly on the side of those who argued that rational men could, and should, believe that such evil existed, insisting it was possible for witches to "rayse stromes and tempestes in the aire, either upon land or sea, though not universally; but in such a particular place and prescribed bunds as God will permitte them so to trouble."

After he became England's king in 1601 and moved south, his views moderated significantly. Arguments as to why included the greater skepticism of the English and may also include his experience with Anne Gunter, a young woman who accused others of witchcraft and later confessed that she had made it all up.

A footnote for those who know "the Scottish play": The three witches in Macbeth are thought to have been modeled on some passages of the Daemonologie, as an attempt by Shakespeare to please England's new King James I.

No such moderation of views occurred in the Scotland he left behind. Witch hunts continued sporadically, with the largest wave in 1661-62. And the methods of witch hunting in Scotland were more brutal than those in England. Some claimed it was because of differences in the legal system, but the torture routinely practiced in Scotland was gruesome.

Which brings me to the other particularly Scottish contribution to mass witch hunts: the "witch pricker."

These finders-for-hire traveled the country, paid to search for witches and paid better when they found one. And while the methods of the English "witch finders" such as Matthew Hopkins were grim enough, the witch pricker had a particular slant on things.

The theory was that each witch would have a witch's mark, given to her by the Devil. The witch pricker examined the suspected witch (overwhelmingly, though not exclusively, a female) for the mark. (The theory was that Satan, in essence, seduced the women, so the mark would often be found near her most private parts.) This mark was supposed to be insensitive to pain, so that when jabbed with a sharp, brass prick, the witch would not flinch or cry out or bleed. If the point of the prick disappeared into the mark and the witch did not cry out, the witch pricker had then proven the suspect's guilt.

Witch-pricking needles

The descriptions of these processes, often witnessed by a crowd of observers, are chilling. More chilling, however, was the discovery that at least some of these pricks were designed with retractable points. In other words, to an observer, it looked as if the pin penetrated the skin and came out without so much as blood on it. In reality, the witch pricker had a perfect scam going. How many women were put to death because of this ruse, we don't know. When, finally, one of the most notorious prickers, one John Kincaid, was exposed, it marked a turning point in Scotland. Witches were still hunted and tried, but torture had to be authorized by point in Scotland. Witches were still hunted and tried, but torture had to be authorized by national councils instead of simply conducted by local authorities in the grip of fear and frenzy.

These "stranger than fiction" facts haunted me as I developed The Witch Finder. And while my characters are not identifiable historical figures, they do, I hope, carry the truth of that time and its lessons.

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Blythe Gifford was hailed as "New and Noteworthy" in "Unusual Historicals" on 20th February 2015, as a direct result of her being the winner of The Review's February Book of the Month.

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The Witch Finder is an independently published book.

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About Blythe Gifford 

After many years in public relations, advertising and marketing, Blythe Gifford started writing seriously after a corporate layoff. Ten years and one layoff later, she became an overnight success when she sold her first book to the Harlequin Historical line. Since then, she has published ten books, primarily set in England and on the Scottish Borders, most revolving around real historical figures and events. Whispers at Court will be released in June, 2015. For more information, visit www.blythegifford.com.

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Louise E. Rule Interviews February's Book of the Month Winner - Blythe Gifford

WELCOME TO 

BLYTHE GIFFORD

FEBRUARY'S WINNER OF 

THE REVIEW'S BOOK OF THE MONTH

Blythe Gifford

After many years in public relations, advertising, and marketing, Blythe Gifford started writing seriously after a corporate layoff. Ten years and one layoff later, she became an overnight success when she sold her Romance Writiers of America Golden Heart Finalist (unpublished) manuscript to the Harlequin Historical line. 

She has since published historical romances set in medieval England, Flanders, and on the Scottish Borders, most incorporating real historical events and characters. The Chicago Tribune has called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance." Her eleventh book, Whispers at Court, will be released in June 2015.

Thank you for joining me today, Blythe, and for agreeing to be interviewed about your indie published book, The Witch Finder, which I have chosen as February's winner of  The Review's Book of the Month.

You have written many books, Blythe, so could you tell our readers what the hook was that made you want to write about the fascinating subject of witch finders, especially as The Witch Finder is quite different from your other books?

There are several answers embedded in this question.  First, yes, this book is darker, more intense, and includes more of the “gritty” side of history than my other books.  But all my work is rooted in real historical events and people and this book remains an historical romance, as my other books are. 

As to what drew me, when I looked at my original notes on this project, I discovered I first noodled on this idea before I was even published, originally thinking to set it during the Inquisition. That means it was in my subconscious for ten years before I started writing. 

There’s a famous maxim on the importance of conflict in romance, attributed to multi-million selling author Sandra Brown:  “If your heroine is an arsonist, your hero better be a fire fighter.” I could think of no conflict stronger than that of a suspected witch and a witch finder. For me as a writer, the story combines several elements that intrigue me and turn up in much of my work: women and sexuality (that’s one!), religion, and politics. Although the last two are traditionally taboo, in an historical context, you can’t reflect the world as it was if you ignore them. One reason I write romance is that it makes the woman central to the story. In other genres, that is sometimes difficult to do.

Reading your book re-awakened an interest in the history of witch hunts in both the UK and in the USA, so could you let our readers know how you went about your own research for The Witch Finder?

Sometimes I think research is my favourite part of the process! I started broadly, originally thinking the story would be set in England, where the “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins reigned for more than three years, ostensibly responsible for the deaths of 300 “witches.” But I discovered that some of the most virulent witch hunting episodes occurred in Scotland, specifically in the Scottish Lowlands, where I had already set a book. In fact, the number of witches tried in Scotland far exceeded the number tried in England, so I gravitated to that era and location, though I kept England in my sights during the process.

Sinclair - Satan's World 1685

The Scottish witch hunts have attracted quite a bit of scholarship, and my shelves now overflow. Particularly helpful were Enemies of God by Christina Larner and The Scottish Witch Hunts in Context by Julian Goodare.  There is also an extensive archive/database online via the University of Edinburgh, here. To give Google Books credit, they have now digitized many original sources that used to require travel to distant libraries to access. My Google bookshelf on this issue alone tops 200 items.

But witch hunting is a subject that seems to attract sensationalist and speculative commentary, so I had to be cautious about my sources, both in print and online.

One of the trickiest parts of the research, interestingly, was not the witch hunts themselves. It was the political situation. The story is set in the immediate aftermath of the transition from the Cromwellian government to the restoration of the monarchy in England and Scotland. It’s a brief and specific moment in time and trying to nail down certain political and religious realities of those months caused me many months of frustration. These could not be glossed over because they were crucial to accurately portray who conducted the investigations and how they proceeded.

The Witch Trials

In addition, as always, trying to get enough of a handle on clothes, food, and housing so that you can walk around in the characters’ world is a challenge. Yet this is crucial if I am to immerse the reader in the world. I always write with a map and a calendar close at hand. The calendar was particularly important for this story, for it is paced more like a thriller, with the key action taking place over about ten days.

By the way, the Salem, Massachusetts (US) witch hunt took place about 30 years after this. I did not extend my research to the US except to re-read The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s amazing play.

Your characters are extremely interesting, and complex: Margret, for example, comes across as a very independent woman whose character is driven to protect her mother. It is Margret’s character that, for me, drives the story. How did you go about developing her?

One of the things I always say is that all my books are autobiographical, but not necessarily in the way you imagine. This one was a bit more direct. My mother died the year before I started the manuscript and the last couple of years of her life, our roles were reversed, much as Margret’s and her mother’s. My mother was not as impaired as Margret’s, my road certainly not as hard. But during those years, I had a constant sense of worry and frustration and helplessness that I translated to the page. I’m glad it brought her alive for you.

The character of Alexander Kincaid, on the other hand, is an enigma. What was your process for developing his complexities, which I found quite absorbing?

Making Alexander believable and relatable for the modern reader was one of my hardest tasks. Though it is true that “good people” in various times past believe things we now see as heinous, I felt I could not have an educated hero committed to destroying witches without giving him a very good motivation. That meant having a “witch” destroy someone he loved, at once proof and emotional justification.

That setup was the writer’s craft brain at work. But the unfolding of his deeper motivations and inner doubts came from the magic of writing the story itself. I thought of him as a man in search of justice, almost like a knight fighting a dragon. That allowed him to be believably open to change.

When writing, do you have a particular routine? For example, do you always write at a certain time of day, in a certain place?

I am a creature of habit because habit will keep you at the keyboard more effectively than willpower. After morning coffee and routine, I put on a playlist of music I develop for each book. This includes something rousing and atmospheric to start, followed by appropriate period music and/or soundtracks. Like Pavlov’s dog, when I hear it, my hands automatically go to the keyboard. (I’m listening to my soundtrack for this book as I write these answers.) I’ve also had a signature candle scent, for this book, a dark cedar/bergamot/amber mix.

When I began, I was strictly a morning writer, but I’ve trained myself to work morning and afternoon. Usually, a writing stretch is one and a half to two hours. While I have forced myself to write when I travel on (non-writing) business, I’m most productive in my office, at my desktop, surrounded by my research books and all my files.

Some authors write longhand and then transcribe their manuscript to the laptop. How do you write your novels, Blythe? 

I’m a draft writer, but for the most part, wedded to the keyboard. The first draft is about 100 pages of the “good stuff,” that is, the scenes that form the core of the story.  Sometimes, here and further along, I’ll scribble on a large drawing pad some of the themes or images and the drawing can unlock some connections the conscious mind has missed.  There’s been research before this, but the research continues throughout the process.  Interestingly, my opening scene rarely changes substantively.

How I write

The second draft creates more of a beginning, middle, and end. Well, that sounds more organized than it is. The point here is to create more words.  Eventually, I discover the story. All the way along, I’ll print out and edit with scribbles in the margin. I even cut and paste entire scenes into different places. I write short, so even at the end of this stage, I’m 40-50 pages shy of where I need to be.

The third draft is where it becomes a book. I mean that literally. Suddenly, the thing snaps into place. Everything tightens. (Which means I lose words and have to expand again.) Now each word matters.  (Before, it was just get something down!) I have ‘aha’ moments about the characters. The plot. Everything. And while I say “Draft Three,” the fact is that by the time the manuscript is ready for the editor, I’ve reviewed each page at least ten times. Draft Three can actually be Four or Five.  Or Six…

Editing and proof reading are the two most important tasks after the manuscript has been completed. Would you like to share how you go about these tasks?

Traditionally, I’ve been able to rely on my wonderful editor at Harlequin for these things, but when Harlequin passed on this book, I had to assemble my own team. I used a total of four editors--two for overview of the story and two for copy/proof work. It was very important to me to do it right, since indie publishing sometimes has a reputation for skipping those steps. That said, I probably don’t need four the next time! Part of it is finding people you gel with. There are online communities of self-published authors who are happy to recommend good people. Two of my four editors formerly worked at traditional publishing houses and such professionals are now available for freelance work.

As you are an indie author, Blythe, would you recommend it to other authors, and would-be authors, and could you tell our readers why you decided to be an indie author?

I decided to publish The Witch Finder myself after Harlequin rejected the book because I think it’s some of the best work I’ve done. I also thought it would be a learning experience in the brave new publishing world we live in. The reviews, like yours, and being a finalist in last year’s Bookseller’s Best competition, have validated my belief that the book was worth sending into the world.

Technically, I’m still a “hybrid,” publishing in both camps.  Secrets at Court was released by Harlequin last year and Whispers at Court will be out from them in June. Both of those are set in the court of Edward III of England and take place around the weddings of Edward’s son and daughter, respectively.

My advice? Be sure you understand the time and the breadth of skills demanded, many of which are entrepreneurial, not creative. I had to set up accounts with the retailers, find a cover artist, develop a cover, hire a formatter to translate the computer file properly for e-and print versions. And now there is a need to adjust pricing for VAT [value added tax] changes. Not to mention your own accounting for taxes!  It is like starting a small business.

More, in my experience, indie publishing favors the “predictably prolific.” Those who are making a good living as indies are releasing five to nine “projects” a year, usually in a genre fiction series. I would also caution that the landscape, even the royalty rates, can be expected to change. Change is inevitable throughout the publishing world these days. 

One of the biggest challenges for any writer, particularly an indie one, is getting the word out. How can people ever find your book among the millions now published every year?  So I am so grateful to you for shining this spotlight on The Witch Finder. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and support!

Thank you so much for a most interesting interview Blythe, and congratulations on winning February's Book of the Month Award. So well deserved.

Blythe Gifford can be found at her website, her Facebook page, Twitter, and Pintrest.

Book of the Month Winner for February - Blythe Gifford - The Witch Finder

Please see below for information about the giveaway!

The Witch Finder by Blythe Gifford – Reviewed by Louise Rule

Welcome to The Review's Book of the Month Series.

There will be no submissions to this as it is purely us, The Review Team, who will choose them from books we have read, either recently or some time ago, but they have to be independently published by an independent author.

The reasons why we are choosing these books is because they are works of excellence that make them shine above others. Every one of us will have our own tastes and ideas about what makes a good book. My ideas about what makes a good book concurs with Paula Lofting's ideas. They are:

• Books have to be well written and have a unique and interesting writing style.
• Great characterisation with lots of depth to them.
• Plot development that makes the book a 'page-turner'
• Good research and authenticity.
• I like to be taken to 'other worlds' and lose myself in the story.

I am so thrilled to be presenting Blythe Gifford's novel, The Witch Finder 

as the winner of February's Book of the Month

I originally reviewed Blythe Gifford’s book on 29^th January, 2014, for The Review. The book has stayed with me ever since. The story line, the characters, the subject matter tempted me into considering it even more, and because of this, it reignited my own research into witch hunters, a subject that has, from time to time, been an interest of mine.

Since writing my original review, I have read Gifford’s book several times. Each time that I read it, I find something new, a nuance that I had missed in previous readings, or a greater understanding of how the characters were feeling. I became more and more impressed with how the story as a whole came together with each reading. For me, when a book can be reread with enthusiasm, that is a sign of excellent authorship.

Gifford has the ability to bring the reader through the curtain of fiction, and into the realms of real life. The readers find themselves on the sidelines, watching events unfold. Now and then, as if there is a feeling of intruding, the reader may find that they try to duck out of the way, so as not to be seen, so cleverly has this been written.

Because Blythe Gifford’s novel is based on known facts about witch hunting, everything is founded on the realms of possibility. This is how Gifford projects the drama, the angst, and the relief throughout. We readers are on tenterhooks often, and the relief, or sadness, of the characters after such events is palpable.

The Book of the Month Award from The Review is a new event for us, and I leapt at the chance of putting forward Blythe Gifford’s book. I have read very many books over the past year, most of them have been exemplary, but when it came to me to select my book for February, I did not hesitate to choose The Witch Finder. It is different, not your usual witch hunting story. It’s not written for sensationalism, it’s written as an account of real lives being affected by those awful events. You feel the injustice, the terror, the panic. I found myself holding my breath on many occasions whilst reading, followed by exhalations of relief.

Since writing my original review, I have visited Scotland twice in the past year, and now understand more fully the Scottish dialectal words that Gifford has used, and the draw of that wonderful country.

Blythe Gifford’s The Witch Finder Review is below, with additional content.

Blythe Gifford

“It’s October 1661, Scotland, the Borders – Hoofbeats woke her, sending her heart tripping fast as the horse, even without knowing who rode. Nothing good rode at night.”

These are the opening lines to a story that will take you into the realms of the witch finder. The horror of not being able to make someone believe that you are innocent when they only see you as guilty, is unimaginable. Gifford cleverly draws the reader into the story, pitting the searcher against the searched.

The opening lines of a book, for me, are very important. They have to set the scene, hook me in, and make me want to turn the page. Gifford’s The Witch Finder does that for me. It is not a book that I would instinctively choose, but the cover intrigued me. First of all it has a teaser – “He’s a haunted man. She’s a hunted woman.” The title of the book overlays the picture in a bright yellow font that catches the eye, encouraging the reader to view the picture that sits behind it: a woman cloaked in black. So, being naturally curious, I had to read it.

Margaret is our protagonist, hiding her mother who has been sent mad through interrogation in Edinburgh by the witch finder called Scobie. They are living in a small, remote, barely furnished cottage out along the road from the village of Kirktoun. Here she could keep her mother safe and away from prying eyes and questions. Gifford has the reader feeling sympathetic towards both Margaret and her mother from the outset. We feel her panic as the witch pricker comes riding past her home. Will Margaret’s mother be found? Will Margaret be accused of being a witch? Nail-biting moments carry the reader page by page. We are taken into the realms of interrogation, and the bitter futility of declaring innocence.

The witch finder is Alexander Kincaid who had watched his mother die. We are told that she was the victim of a witch’s curse. It is because of this that he dedicates his life to finding witches. The Kincaid character is presented as vacillating between being absolutely certain of what he is doing to doubting it. His turmoil, for me, is pivotal, inasmuch as it demonstrates his conscience is fighting with his determination to find witches, no matter how.

Gifford has a sound knowledge of the era of witch finding in Scotland in the 17^th century. The witch finder being referred to as the witch pricker, because of the brass pointed tool that was used to prick into the accused. If the accused felt no pain they were guilty; if they did not bleed from the wound, they were guilty. If they professed their innocence, then it was the devil putting those words into their mouths. They were literally damned if they confessed, damned if they didn’t. Either way the use of the witch pricker tool always proved the poor woman guilty.

There are some really poetic images running through the story, for example: 

‘…The flash of anger. But it rippled away like the sparkle of a fish in the stream, so quickly he wondered whether he had seen it at all.’ 

And: 

‘The moon, half eaten by clouds, looked down on them as wind rattled the trees, sending leaves scuttling across their steps.’

Since first reading The Witch Finder, I have visited Scotland twice, and I feel that Gifford has realistically used the Scottish dialect here and there where it has the most impact. I think had she written all speech in dialect the book would have become difficult to read. Writing in dialect is a difficult thing to do properly; I think that Gifford has achieved it. For example, 

‘Since I’m nae witch, I canna answer’;

She shook her head. “She’s a howdie with no bairns of her own. It’s unricht.”

The use of the word, ‘unricht’, I would presume means ‘wrong – “unright”’.

Gifford confidently carries the reader through the story at a great pace. There are breath-taking moments, breath-holding moments, and moments of great relief. I was sorry when it was finished. I don't know if Blythe Gifford intends a second book on this subject or not, but I consider there is scope for the story to continue, and I for one, would love to read another installment.

Author Blythe Gifford is also so graciously offering a FREE COPY of The Witch Finder as a giveaway. For your chance to win, simply comment below OR at this review's Facebook page here.

The Witch Finder can also be purchased in paperback and in e-book format here.

You can find Blythe Gifford here at www.blythegifford.com. 

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Louise Rule is author of Future Confronted.

View her Facebook Page here.

Find her on Twitter and Goodreads.

The Best of The Review: Favorite Posts From the First Half Year (Volume VIII)

Sons of the Wolf~~Paula Lofting

It was truly so difficult to choose two--just two!!--entries for our favorite blog posts; there really were so many I loved--from books I liked the sound of and wanted to read, to reviews of works I might not otherwise have given a second look, but was drawn in by the reviewers' ability to get me to see new possibilities. In the end I decided to go with the ones that came to mind most fluidly and frequently when trying to decide on which constituted my favorites.

To that end I went first for Linda's review of Sons of the Wolf. I already had a close bond with this book, oddly enough one that before I read feared I would not enjoy. This pre-Conquest era is not one I remember much of from school and I was, I admit, a bit intimidated. In the end I not only loved the novel but grew to care about the characters and, as Linda writes, "Thankfully there is a sequel coming." I also loved Linda's descriptive review which also succinctly guides readers through the "how it came to be," and she does a fantastic job of it.

There is a village in pre-Norman Sussex called  Horstede which  has been invaded by a time traveler, or so it seems. I am tempted to speculate that not  even a member of Regia Anglorum like author Paula Lofting could create a story like Sons of the Wolf unless she had lived among them.  I suspect that in spirit, indeed she has.  Her novel  is the product of a writer who not only loves her subject and knows it well, but also knows her craft.  As I read the opening pages, I can smell the woodsmoke and feel the warmth of the greetings of the villagers as protagonist Wulfhere and his right hand man Esegar return from a bloodly battle as the opening curtain rises.  I remain a captive of the story until its final page, and best of all, beyond. Thankfully there is a sequel coming.

Any meticulously researched and authentically presented historical  novel set in a well known milieu faces the risk that devotion to historical truth  may become its own spoiler. Such is not the case with Sons of the Wolf. To avoid the common pitfall,  Lofting has masterfully selected two characters from the pages of Doomsday Book about whom little is known. The only references is to their names –Wulfhere and Helghi—and the amount of land they owned. Their respective societal ranks can be guessed from a notation as to the size of their respective estates. The balance is  Lofting’s creation.

Wulfhere is the thegn of Horstede and Helghi’s superior in rank. Helghi also  is a landowner but a tier below his rival. Their families have been fueding for years, and the conflict brings out the worst of each. Their  abiding hatred forges their destiny and contaminates others. Wulfhere is a  good man who seeks to do the right thing, but he does not always like it. Helghi is the consummate villain,  obsessed with bringing Wulfhere to his knees, and willingly sacrifices the future and the well-being of his family to do so.

When the historical character Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex and brother-in-law of King Edward seeks to reconcile Wulfhere and Helghi, he sets events in motion that make matters worse.
After I read the initial four chapters of the book I put it down, not because I did not like it, but because I was utterly unfamiliar with its historical context.  My intense study of British history is framed by the  Plantegenets on one end and the Marlboros on the other. What I knew of the Norman invasion could be  summarized in a  line  from the 1953 movie Young Bess.  Says adolescent  Elizabeth, "England has never been invaded, except by the Normans, who do not count because they were us."  What I knew of Anglo Saxon Britain would have scarcely filled a journal page. I  profited from  spending  a few minutes on Wikipedea,  and once I had a better understanding of what transpired in Britain in the years immediately prior to 1066, I was ready for a breathtaking, violent, fast and furious and often heart-rending ride through the years before the Normans came.

Click to continue reading…

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The Witch Finder~~Blythe Gifford

Here Louise also snares me with her ability to capture the intrigue of a book, and I was interested in the topic as well. She takes us to a dangerous time and points to the author's skillful use of privileged position and dramatic words to draw us into the events and follow the players as they make their way through their own world. This book is the very next on my to-be-read list and I plan to reward myself with it at the end of the month when I make several deadlines. Books make fantastic rewards!!

“It’s October 1661, Scotland, the Borders – Hoofbeats woke her, sending her heart tripping fast as the horse, even without knowing who rode. Nothing good rode at night.”

These are the opening lines to a story that will take you into the realms of the witch finder.

The horrors of not being able to make someone believe that you are innocent, when those around you see you as guilty. Blythe Gifford cleverly draws the reader into the story, pitting the searcher against the searched.

The opening lines of a book, for me, are very important. They have to set the scene, hook me in, and make me want to turn the page. Blythe Gifford’s The Witch Finder does that for me. It is not a book that I would instinctively choose, but the cover intrigued me. First of all it has a teaser – “He’s a haunted man. She’s a hunted woman.” The title of the book overlays the picture in a bright yellow font that catches the eye; encouraging the reader to view the picture that sits behind it; a woman cloaked in black. So, being naturally curious, I had to read it. 

Margaret is our protagonist, hiding her mother who has been sent mad through interrogation in Edinburgh by the witch finder called Scobie.  They are living in a small, remote, barely furnished cottage out along the road from the village of Kirktoun. Here she could keep her mother safe and away from prying eyes and questions. Blythe has the reader feeling sympathetic towards both Margaret and her mother from the outset. We feel her panic as the witch pricker comes riding past her home. Will Margaret’s mother be found? Will Margaret be accused of being a witch? Nail-biting moments carry the reader page by page. We are taken into the realms of interrogation, and the bitter futility of declaring innocence.

Click to continue reading...