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Cunning Women
- Author
- Elizabeth Lee
- Narrator
- Taj Atwal
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 22 April 2021
- Run Time
- 10 hours 16 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
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ONE OF GRAZIA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2021
'[A] powerful story of forbidden love ... a tense and atmospheric ride' Daily Mail
'With a painfully unexpected ending, this is a story about loneliness, connection and female rage that fans of intensely atmospheric historical fiction will love.' Stylist
'Witches and the dread they inspired are captured here with chilling deftness.' Woman and Home
'Timely in its depiction of hysteria and persecution, and beautifully evokes a historical period poised between dark ignorance and long-overdue enlightenment.' Observer
'A thrilling read. But, beyond the thrill, is the beauty of the language . . . A pleasure to read - with an undercurrent of genuine fear' Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily
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When it is no longer safe to be a witch, they call themselves cunning.
Seventeenth-century Lancashire is a dark and mistrustful place. Ten years after the notorious Pendle witch trials saw ten accused witches hanged, young Sarah Haworth and her family live as outcasts in a ruined hamlet. The inhabitants of the nearby village despise 'cunning folk' like them, but their services - healing balms, herbal remedies - will always be in demand, and they have a way of coming to know all the village's secrets.
A chance meeting sees Sarah become acquainted with Daniel, a young man from the village. In him, she sees a clever, caring man; in her, he sees not the strange, dirty outcast he knows he should, but rather the strong young woman coming into her own.
As they are drawn closer together, a new magistrate arrives in the area to investigate a spate of strange deaths befalling the villagers. Inevitably, his eye falls on Sarah's family, and his hand carries a burning torch. In the face of persecution, something as fragile as love seems impossible...
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'Wonderfully original . . . devastating . . . and fabulously atmospheric' Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den
'A haunting tale with a brutal twist' Emily Brand, author of The Fall of the House of Byron
'An impressive debut . . . beautifully relevant' Kate Mascarenhas
'Beautiful, tense (at points breathless!)' Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding
'I'm delighted that there's already been a lot of buzz about this debut' Marian Keyes
Critics Review
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I loved it. Atmospheric and so good.
Marian Keyes
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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
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A dark, bewitching and captivating read that had my heart in my mouth by the ending. A Romeo & Juliet love story framed by witchcraft, magic, fear and intolerance. I loved it
Jennifer Saint
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With a painfully unexpected ending, this is a story about loneliness, connection and female rage that fans of intensely atmospheric historical fiction will love.
Stylist
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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A haunting tale with a brutal twist.
Emily Brand, author of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF BYRON
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Witches and the dread they inspired are captured here with chilling deftness
Woman and Home
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An impressive debut . . . anyone who roots for the underdog will fall for Sarah . . . beautifully relevant.
Kate Mascarenhas
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Elizabeth Lee builds up a powerful atmosphere of menace, with danger lurking around every corner, until the mounting tension builds to boiling point.
Daily Express
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This powerful story of forbidden love takes place during a time of persecution after the Pendle witch trials of 1612. At its heart is a wild young woman searching for what life can offer ... A tense and atmospheric ride.
Daily Mail
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Beautiful, tense (at points breathless!) historical fiction with meticulously researched description. I loved it.
Kate Sawyer, author of THE STRANDING
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Elizabeth Lee
- Narrator
- Taj Atwal
- Duration
- 10 hours 16 minutes
- Release Date
- 22 April 2021
- ISBN
- 9781473593701
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Historical romance
Synopsis
__________________'Witches and the dread they inspired are captured here with chilling deftness.' Woman and Home'[A] powerful story of forbidden love ... a tense and atmospheric ride' Daily Mail'Timely in its depiction of hysteria and persecution, and beautifully evokes a historical period poised between dark ignorance and long-overdue enlightenment.' Observer'A thrilling read. But, beyond the thrill, is the beauty of the language . . . A pleasure to read - with an undercurrent of genuine fear' Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily__________________When it is no longer safe to be a witch, they call themselves cunning.1620s Lancashire. Away from the village lies a small hamlet, abandoned since the Plague, where only one family dwells amongst its ruins. Young Sarah Haworth, her mother, brother and little sister Annie are a family of outcasts by day and the recipients of visitors by night. They are cunning folk: the villagers will always need them, quick with a healing balm or more, should the need arise. They can keep secrets too, because no one would believe them anyway.When Sarah spies a young man taming a wild horse, she risks being caught to watch him calm the animal. And when Daniel sees Sarah he does not just see a strange, dirty thing, he sees her for who she really is: a strong creature about to come into her own. But can something as fragile as love blossom between these two in such a place as this?When a new magistrate arrives to investigate the strange ends that keep befalling the villagers, he has his eye on one family alone. And a torch in his hand.Cunning Women is the powerful reckoning of a young woman with her wildness, a heartbreaking tale of young love and a shattering story of the intolerance that reigned during the long shadow of the Pendle Witch Trials, when those who did not conform found persecution at every door.__________________'Wonderfully original . . . devastating . . . and fabulously atmospheric' Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den'A haunting tale with a brutal twist' Emily Brand, author of The Fall of the House of Byron'An impressive debut . . . beautifully relevant' Kate Mascarenhas'Beautiful, tense (at points breathless!)' Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding'I'm delighted that there's already been a lot of buzz about this debut' Marian Keyes
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