Publisher: Jonathan Cape
SYNOPSIS:
September 1613.
In Belvoir Castle, the heir of one of England's great noble families falls suddenly and dangerously ill. His body is 'tormented' with violent convulsions. Within a few short weeks he will suffer an excruciating death. Soon the whole family will be stricken with the same terrifying symptoms. The second son, the last male of the line, will not survive.
It is said witches are to blame. And so the Earl of Rutland's sons will not be the last to die.
Witches traces the dramatic events which unfolded at one of England's oldest and most spectacular castles four hundred years ago. The case is among those which constitute the European witch craze of the 15th-18th centuries, when suspected witches were burned, hanged, or tortured by the thousand. Like those other cases, it is a tale of superstition, the darkest limits of the human imagination and, ultimately, injustice - a reminder of how paranoia and hysteria can create an environment in which nonconformism spells death. But as Tracy Borman reveals here, it is not quite typical. The most powerful and Machiavellian figure of the Jacobean court had a vested interest in events at Belvoir.He would mastermind a conspiracy that has remained hidden for centuries.
REVIEW:
I love to read about events that I don’t really know much about and whilst I was aware of the Witch Hunts in England (specifically the ones in Lancashire) I wasn’t as up on the events that occurred within this title brought to the reader in a factual yet interesting way by author Tracy Borman.
Whilst explaining in great detail, the reader is never left to feel that they’re getting too much information at once, the author brings it over in an easy to comprehend manner and when added to an obvious passion by the author to bring history to life all round makes this a great book to enjoy.
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