The Manningtree Witches brings to life the history of a small English town set in the mid-seventeen century where there is the sudden upheaval of witch trials. In this small community that is mostly populated by women due to men joining war, Rebecca West finds herself and the women around her accused of being witches. The new man in town, Matthew Hopkins, self-proclaimed witch-hunter, leads the charge against these women. This rendering of the witch trials is charged with betrayal, first love, suspicion, and the desire for freedom at any cost.

A. K. Blakemore has accomplished writing both a lyrical and excellently researched novel that flies off the pages. The inclusion of the primary sources that were sprinkled throughout the novel were a nice addition and helps to remind the reader that this story is based on actual history.

If you love beautifully written historical fiction, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Catapult, and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my opinions!

4.5 actual stars

There have been several books recently on witch trials( with another one from author Chris Bohjolian soon to be released) and despite the fact that this is material has been covered before I was still anxious to read this, the synopsis of course was intriguing but this one had me really exited to read and I was thrilled when NetGalley approved me for it.

Set in England 1643, young Rebecca West, her mother and some of the town folk's women have come under the suspicion of being witches. Led by the imposing, dressed in black religious zealot Matthew Hopkins who is aptly named the Witchfinder General, Hopkins becomes a celebrity of sorts among small towns for snuffing out and ridding those who are purported to consort with the Devil. While Rebecca and the women defend themselves against the accusations and betrayals of their neighbors Rebecca becomes attracted to a young clerk, handsome John Edes who ultimately betrays her and while she knows that she must fight for her life to survive, she also must fight against the burgeoning sexual stirrings within her.

The atmosphere of the book was dark and chilling with the Witchfinder's relentless interrogations and his seemingly enjoyment of the persecutions he puts into play. Also what stands out for me about this book is that despite Rebecca's young age, her sensibilities of the situation at stake was deeply introspective and mature for one so young. Her awareness of Matthew Hopkins and his hypocritical pursuit of her and the other women accused was almost amusing to her because she knew he struggled with his own dark desires and sins. Her calm demeanor with everything going around her and the lives at stake I think led her to accept her fate but also do what she must do in order to survive. Rebecca's story was more than just a story of persecution but a deeply felt look into her soul and the reasoning of others involved in the witch hunts. Recommended.

Thank you to author A.K Blakemore and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

The Manningtree Witches is a historical novel based on true events during England's civil war. The author gives voice to everyday people who were accused (and mostly convicted) of being witches. I had always wondered who these people were and what made public opinion turn against them, and I think this novel does a great job of humanizing the people of Manningtree and calling out the everyday injustice towards women during that period.
I loved Rebecca's character arc. It was satisfying to watch this young polite woman take a few pages out of her mother's book and stand up for herself more and more, even if it did require unthinkable sacrifices. I will say that the ending seemed a bit too far out of reach for her character (at least for me), but it was still good to see that some people got what was coming to them.
Although I enjoyed the story, I did think that the language was a bit hard to grasp. It did provide a sense of ambiance and setting, but it also made it a slow read. I had to constantly reread passages or look words up to get a general sense of what was going on.
All in all, I would call this book a solid 3.5-4.
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Book Review for The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
Full review for this title will be posted at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

The year is 1643 in puritanical England and the town of Manningtree is overrun with women after many men went off to fight in the war. Rebecca West is one such young woman who is left alone with her mother and young brother. She is bored with her life, except when she is in the presence of John Edes. However, curiosity strikes when a new person arrives in town, Matthew Hopkins. He is very mysterious and dark as he is dressed in all black. He observes the women in the town and begins to question their behavior.

I was not a fan of this book. It was very hard to understand as it was written in Old English and it had some very graphic descriptions that made my skin crawl. Overall I just didn’t really understand what was going on or where the story was going. It just wasn’t for me.

The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
Publication Date: March 4, 2021
Genre: Literary Fiction

In the village of Manningtree in 1643, Matthew Hopkins, a witchfinder, has arrived. His arrival has brought accusations and finger pointing. Men are eager to explain away women’s behaviour and women are eager to throw members of their fellow gender under the bus to save their own skins. When a child falls ill and starts raving about witches, conflict ignites.

It is my understanding from reading the author’s note, the two main characters, Matthew Hopkins and Rebecca West are two historical figures associated with the English witch trials. I must admit my knowledge of English witch trials is limited so when I saw the description of this book I was intrigued.

It is obvious by the prose of the novel and use of vocabulary this author is extremely talented. English is my first language, I have an arts degree from university, so I would consider myself pretty fluent in the language. That being said, I’ve never had to use the dictionary function on my Kindle as much as I did while I read this book. For this reason, I found the actual narrative hard to follow. I like to relax with a book after a long day at work and this felt taxing to get through.

The circumstances in which the characters all find themselves were interesting. Particularly how women being unmarried or without a father, or assertive and not the required level of submissive, was reason enough to suspect them of witchcraft. However, not one character held any appeal for me and by the end I was intrigued to know how the village as a whole would move on from the ordeal but wasn’t particularly concerned with the fate of any specific character.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Catapult for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed the setting of this novel and found it spooky and hard to put dowbn. The writing is very lyrical, something I had not expected in a witch-hunting style novel, but it brought a vivid atmosphere to life. I did look into the author while reading this and can absolutely see her poetic roots in this book. I was delighted to see the sinister nature of people portrayed so well, and I appreciated the setup for that. I would recommend this to friends!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Blakemore's prose submerges the reader in the Civil War period of England and the frenzy of witch-hunting led by Matthew Hopkins. Although historical fiction, Blakemore's writing focuses on the impoverished women of Manningtree in such a way that the reader lives and breathes their tragedies. This brilliantly-written novel demands a reading without allowing for interruption, unless that interruption involves another cup of tea or other sustenance.

This book is like if Nathaniel Hawthorne was able to write a cool, British, feminist novel (and I mean this in the absolute best way). I was enthralled by Blakemore’s poetic writing and felt as if she was casting a spell on me (a cliche I know, but still true). This book completely transported me to seventeenth century England, but because of this, parts of this novel were lost on me. I would have been better off if I knew a lot more about English history to fully understand and appreciate this work. Nonetheless it was refreshing and rich to read about the witch trials of England instead of America for a change. Once again, Catapult did not disappoint!

A town full of women, a girl named Rebecca and the man, she admires, Thomas Edes are all thrown together when Matthew Hopkins comes to town. Matthew is the “witch finder” and he is on a mission. He does not approve of the “devilery” within Manningtree and he is on a crusade to get rid of witches. The writing is difficult to comprehend as it seems to be in Olde English. I was unable to follow the story in its entirety and found it grueling to just relax and read. Frustrating. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an h9nest review.