The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

Synopsis
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote – and perhaps not even to live – the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

The Wayward Sisters, hand in hand,
Burned and Bound,our stolen crown
But what is lost, that can’t be found?

Review
One of my favourite reads of last year was The Ten Thousand Doors of January so I was excited to see Alix E.Harrow had written a new book and jumped at the chance to take part in the blog tour. The Once and Future Witches is the story of three sisters in 1893 New Salem, a place trying to distance itself from the Old Salem whose history is that of witchcraft and burnings. But history can’t be erased, and women still want to be heard, want a better life for themselves and their daughters, and now they unite in the name of suffrage, rights for women to be themselves, not ruled by men. Into this movement come the three Eastwood Sisters, brought together after seven years estrangement at a suffragette rally where a tower appears, with a magical sign on the door, and with them the old ways of witchcraft, from stories and rhymes passed down from mother to child. But witchcraft still inspres fear in some and the three sisters find themselves facing a much darker and more powerful magic that their own, and need to join together to survive and to find the old ways.

As Alix E. Harrow’s first book was one of my favourite reads last year, The Once and Future Witches will definitely be one of my favourite reads of this year. Alix E. Harow’s writing is poetic, powerful and mesmerising, drawing the reader in and holding their attention throughout. The characters, the three main and the cast of extras are all individual personalities, fully rounded, fascinating and feel very real. It is the youngest sister James Juniper who is the feisty sister, ambitious, wanting to change the world and is full of tenacity. She is the one, who at only seventeen, who draws the sisters together after a seven year estrangement that has left all three damaged and resentful. I loved watching her mature and come into her own as the book progressed, maturing and believing in both herself and her sisters. Agnes Amaranth is the middle sister, working in a mill and not wanting to be part of any magic even though she is the strongest of the sisters. She is very distrustful of Bella, the oldest sister, after Agnes betrayed her years ago. She is pregnant and alone, very much a taboo of the time, so wants to just live her life quietly to protect her unborn baby. Beatrice Belladonna is the oldest sister, is bookish, quiet and has her dream job as a librarian. After the apperance of the tower at the suffragette rally, it is her investigation that brings to light its significance especially to the sisters. I loved watching Bella grow in confidence, accept who she is and allow herself to love and be loved. All three are damaged by their childhood at the hands of their cruel father after the death of their mother, and they have to learn to trust and realise that the sisters, and women in general, are much more powerful as a group rather than on their own and it is alright to surrender part of yourself in love.

What I loved most about this book was the idea of spells being passed down through fairytales and nursery rhymes that we all now and love. Each chapter is headed with lines from a nursery rhyme we all know, and there are also chapters telling the fairytales that reference witchcraft, some are slightly different than the stories we love today. As with her last book, The Once and Future Witches is a strong female led book, showing the strength and intelligence of women. Another theme that follows through both books is the importance of stories, words and books, their ability to teach and pass down morals and ancient folklore. Alix E Harrow tackles some important issues in this book; Agnes still being desirable as a woman even though she is pregnant, same sex relationships, racism, equality and abuse. In the theme of equality she shows that witchcraft is not wholly the domain of women, but that men can also cast spells in the name of witchcraft.

The Once and Furure Witches is a magical and dazzling read about three sisters, witchcraft, the fight for equality, and the empowerment of women. The tension builds, simmering slowly towards the inevitable final battle of good versus evil, personal sacrifice and the idea of strength in numbers; solidarity in sex, race and class. Beautifully written, with a touch of childhhod nostalgia, folklore and magic I was completely enchanted by this wonderful book and I can’t wait to see what Alix E Harrow writes next.

I’d like to thank Orbit Books and Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.