The Witching Tide, Margaret Meyer
The Witching Tide, Margaret Meyer
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The Witching Tide

Author: Margaret Meyer

Narrator: Miranda Raison

Unabridged: 9 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/05/2023


Synopsis

Named a best historical novel of the year by The New York Times Book Review and “reminiscent of both The Scarlet Letter and Hamnet” (Jezebel), The Witching Tide is a powerful debut inspired by the true events behind a deadly witch hunt in 17th-century England.

East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer, and servant, has lived peacefully for more than four decades in her beloved seaside village of Cleftwater. Having lost her voice as a child, Martha has not spoken a word in years.

One autumn morning, a sinister newcomer appears in town. A “witchfinder,” Silas Makepeace has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and his arrival in Cleftwater strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being detained. Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for “devil’s marks,” and finds herself a silent witness to the hunt.

Martha is caught between suspicion and betrayal; between shielding herself or condemning the women of the village. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that belonged to her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, Martha harbors a terrible secret, and the gallows are looming…

Set over the course of a few weeks that forever changed history, and for readers of Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood, The Witching Tide “illuminates a dark historical period and cautions against its recreation” (Kirkus Reviews).

About Margaret Meyer

Margaret Meyer was born in Canada, grew up in New Zealand and now lives in Norwich, England. She worked in publishing before becoming a therapist, and has a degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. The Witching Tide, her first novel, was inspired by the events of the 1645–7 East Anglian witch hunt and is dedicated to the more than 100 innocent women who lost their lives.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dona's on October 04, 2023

Happy (belated) PUB DAY!🥳🎉 September 4 2023 Full review on my blog! Thank you to the author Margaret Meyer, publishers Scribner, and as always NetGalley, for an advance audio copy of THE WITCHING TIDE. ... I read this book twice, as the first time through, I didn't keep up well with all the narrativ......more

Goodreads review by Meagan on September 11, 2023

If it wasn’t for the audio narration, I would have DNF this book. I love books about the Salem witch trials but this one just didn’t do it for me. Repetitive writing. A mute main character, but she was understood by everyone?? somehow??? It got old. The story wasn’t climatic and the middle dragged.......more

Goodreads review by Moonkiszt on September 04, 2024

Another book that confirms my absolute gratitude to all the Higher Powers who put me in the world at this time, rather than in an English village in the 1600's. I wouldn't have made it through one day. Not one. The story that had me dry-mouthed, wide-eyed and tight under my quilts was Martha's. She i......more

Goodreads review by Lori on May 21, 2023

It's the middle of the 17th century in England, where Martha Hallybread resides in a small town called Cleftwater. Born mute, Martha has lived her life communicating with hand signs, quietly working as a healer and midwife. Her loyalty lies with her master Christopher, also known as as Kit, and his......more

Goodreads review by Cynthia on August 31, 2023

Here’s the thing; This story has been told plenty of times already. Granted, the author did a fine job painting a 17th century atmosphere while building tension through a ludicrous (but authentically felt) witch hunt and the growing rage and fear within mob mentality. It’s just that she is not the f......more