Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee

Synopsis
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.

Review

Cunning Women is the debut novel frpm Elizabeth Lee. Set in 1620, after the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, Sarah, her mother, brother John and young sister Annie are living on the outskirts of a Lancashire village, in a hamlet deserted after the plague. Shunned by the villagers who treat them with suspicion by day, but a night they come for their potions and healing balms. Sarah and her family live a solitary, away from others, a path chosen for Sarah and her mother by a mark on their body, as have their ancestors. However, when Sarah sees Daniel, the son of the local farmer, taming a horse, she is drawn as he doesn’t turn and run, he treats her with kindness and sees her for the young women she is. As sparks of romance spark between Sarah and Daniel, a new Magistrate comes to the village puttung Sarah and her family in danger.

Cunning Women is as beautiful to read as the cover suggests. What I loved most about this book was the origional and fresh voice of Sarah, who narrates her chapters in the first person narrative. She is only in her mid teens but has experienced so much of the harshness of life already. Hunger and fear are everyday visitors to her and her family, with her mother relying on he rhealing powers and charms and brother Jack, who can’t get work because of who he is. Sarah has a huge heart, is very loving and caring especilly where her young sister Annie is concerned. She will do anything to protect Annie, from the cruelty of the villagers, but most importantly from being marked by an unknown entity that leads to a life of serving ‘him’, to spin curses and have a familiar. Sarah is not quite ready to meet her fate, she has hopes and dreams that other girls of her age have, love romance and dancing, not a lonely life, always looking over her shoulder and being feared. Sarah is drawn to Daniel, he is gentle, kind and doesn’t fear her, sees her for the young woman she really is and the woman she could be. This is her chance at a normal life, of marraige and children, food on the table and being able to help her family. Following Sarah grow, and love was a wonderful part of this book, but the path of true love never did run smooth, and for Daniel and Sarah their way is thwarted by wicked Gabriel, looking for revenge and the over zealous magistrate.

Elizabeth Lee really captures the atmosphere of this time; even eight years after the Pendle Witch Trials, there is still suspicion of those that people do not understand. Two points that really fascinated me were the fact that those who treated Sarah and her family with disdain during the day, would go to her mother at night when they needed help, be it for a medical reason, for a protecton spell or to end an unwanted pregnancy. The second was the fact that their one protector and friend was Parson Walsh, a man of the church, someone you would have thought would denounce them. The prose is rich and descriptive, capturing the fear and oppresive feeling of the village, people willing to believe what those in power tell them to, drawn in to a web of ideologies that preach hate towards those who are different and don’t conform to the expected way of life of the villiage. There is a real darkness to this book, and some shocking scenes that at times are harrowing to read but add to the versimilitude of this book and its period sitting.

Cunning Women is a book that will stay with me for some time. Elizabeth Lee captures the essence of this period, where there is still a fear of the unknown and misunderstood, and where communities close ranks on those they see as outsiders. Sarah’s voice is unique and lured me into the story, a young woman struggling with who she wanted to be, whether to follow her chosen path or try to break away and try to lead a normal life. With dark and yet beautiful prose, underpinned with tension, this really is a bewitching debut read.

I would like to thank Isabelle Ralphs from Windmill/Cornerstone for my copy of this book in return for my honest review.