This novel takes place during the East Anglican witch hunt of the 1640s. Our protagonist Martha is a mute woman who also works as a servant, midwife and healer. Her small town becomes embroiled in the witch hunt as one woman after another is brought to the jail in order to be tried. Neighbor turns on neighbor and Martha, who has secrets of her own, becomes involved in the horrors.

This is a slow paced, poetic, character-focused, historical novel with a very descriptive sense of time and place. The author had a tendency to overuse similes and metaphors, a stylistic choice that I do not enjoy. This took me out of the story. I can understand others liking this novel but the style was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

This debut historical fiction is set in 17th century England, during the dreaded time of witch hunts. Although this is fiction it is based off real events. We follow the single pov of Martha Hallybread, a mute midwife and healer in a small village. You see how fast events start unfolding as a witch finder comes into town and how many different women start getting accused and brought in to be judged as a witch.
The writing for this story is super detailed with descriptions throughout the book, which can be kinda hard to handle with how poorly women were treated. It’s truly sad how much power men had when a simple jealous person can accuse you and something so small as a mark on your body and can send you to the gallows. It’s a truly heartbreaking time in history, but also an important lesson as well.
I did enjoy the fact that Martha couldn’t talk with her voice, she had to rely what she was meaning in different ways and I feel like that makes what she has to say even more meaningful. This story was really fast paced for me and I highly enjoyed it as well. If you like anything that has to do with witches this one is for you. Make sure to look up triggers/warnings before reading.

I have always loved a good witch hunt story, and this book does not disappoint on that count. The writing flowed smoothly, and the pace was quick for the most part, with a few lags here and there. The characters were fairly well-developed, with a few exceptions. There were no surprising twists--the storyline meandered along in a predictable fashion and ended the same way. With the exception of the main character being mute, there just wasn't anything that made this tale particularly unique.

The Witching Tide is a very atmospheric historical novel about the witch panic in 17th century England. The book did a great job of capturing historical details, especially the day-to-day life and the landscape of this time and place. I was also impressed with the author's ability to build the feeling of suspiciousness that developed among the townspeople. A woman who was a close friend only the day before can turn on you and accuse you of witchcraft ... and then be accused herself the day after that. However, I sometimes felt that the plot dragged and I had a hard time connecting with the main character and some of her choices. Further, the writing (though highly skilled and true to the time) was sometimes a bit difficult to get through. For a reader interested in knowing more about this particular corner of witch history, it's a good book, but, for me, it wasn't quite as successful in terms of storytelling.

DNFing this one for now as I can't get into it. I think it's because I've read similar books to this recently but so far the writing is good and it's very atmospheric so I do think it's worth picking up. Will come back to it in a couple months!

September 1645 brings trouble to the East Anglia village of Cleftwater. After several women are accused of witchcraft, Martha, a midwife, is assigned to the team of ‘searchers’ working for Master Makepeace, the witch finder. Two of the accused are friends: Prissy, the cook in the household where Martha works, and Jennet, sister of a neighbour, whose recent childbed, overseen by Martha, went awry. Mute since childhood, Martha communicates by signing, but without words to express herself, she lives inside her head, often seeking guidance from her deceased mam.

Troubled by a need to unburden herself, she turns to her mother’s few possessions, amongst them a wax poppet. During two weeks of arrests, imprisonment, starvation, torture, ‘searching’ and hangings, the novel pushes the poppet front and centre, a symbol of the persecution of all women, holding life and death, good and evil within its waxy grasp.

Stepping into Cleftwater is to live in those menacing times, rampant with prejudice, hypocrisy and fear, beset by storms, sickness and infant death. The fictional village is as real as anywhere I’ve set foot. Martha’s muteness and the palpable conviction of her guilt are compelling plot-drivers. She waits in vain for ‘them’ to come for her, displaying a martyrish ambivalence to the cruelty inflicted on her by others. With the poppet, she feels strong; without it, her resolve weakens. The ‘special contagion’ Makepeace has wrought on the village erodes belief in others’ innocence. The accused must be guilty of something! But does Martha have a sin which needs redeeming?

This dark, unsettling tale does little to soften the unfolding tragedy, but it is a strong vindication of the women who suffered in the East Anglia witch hunts. At the novel’s poignant conclusion, uppermost are thoughts of faithfulness, loyalty and the enduring power of connection. An emotionally spellbinding narrative.

For me this one was not bad. However, it wasn't anything to write home about. I wish that I would have really enjoyed Martha as a character. I think not really liking her made this one harder to enjoy. The story at large was very blunt and felt more like a historical account vs. a story about a mute woman trying to survive. If you enjoy more historical non fiction stories about the witch trials then this one might be for you. But, if you are looking for most of a survival story about a woman trying to live in this time period. I think this is not a book you would enjoy.

Unfortunately, this debut fell a bit flat for me -- perhaps a case of early reviews overpromising. To be clear, Meyer's description of Cleftwater is so rich, and I really felt as though I understood the community and could see/smell/feel it. I felt for Martha and enjoyed her as a surprisingly complex character (that is, she was complex in surprising ways), and I loved Jennett, that mean ol' spinster queen. Having Martha struggle through the witch trials with a secret fear that perhaps she herself is a witch (however unwittingly) is a good complication to the standard 'witch hunt' plotline, and the men of Cleftwater are so odious (save, perhaps, Simon) and utterly believable that I could barely force myself to turn the page. That Martha is mute in a novel about the loss of women's voices in society is a bit heavy handed, and the poppet defies logic (wax that somehow never gets deformed?). Overall, THE WITCHING TIDE had good bones and good promise but lacked a real engine to keep the narrative moving.

THE WITCHING TIDE by Margaret Meyer is a beautifully written book. The story reminds us how quickly the tide can turn, and how easily people can turn against each other. Ignorant beliefs, lies, fear and confusion are a recipe for chaos. This book is a story about the witch trials. It centers on a woman who heals people and delivers the babies in her community. It's a beautiful and emotional read. I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it.

The story brings us to a village witch hunt in the 1600s in England. Suspicion of others flames like a wildfire with neighbor turning upon neighbor.

The main character is mute during a period of illiteracy and lack of a universal sign language. I would have liked to have known more of her background, and the backgrounds of a few other women in the book.

The historical details were well researched and represented the era well.

I received a copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was not the book for me.

While the prose is beautiful and the descriptions of Cleftwater really make the town come alive, I still struggled with the writing style. It felt very choppy to me. It fell very flat for me and I struggled to connect to the story or the characters.

"For readers of Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel, an immersive literary debut inspired by historical events - a deadly witch hunt in 17th-century England - that claimed many innocent lives.

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. The witchfinder, Silas Makepeace, has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and now has Cleftwater in his sights. His arrival strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being captured and detained, and Martha finds herself a silent witness to the hunt.

Powerless to protest, Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for "devil's marks." She 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 just a few weeks that will forever change history, The Witching Tide delivers powerful and psychologically astute insights about the exigencies of friendship and the nature of loyalty, and heralds the arrival of a striking new voice in fiction."

There are a few books I stumble on that I mark instantly as "must get" and this is one of them ever since Waterstones featured it in a recent email.

"The Witching Tide" serves as a powerful reminder of the dangers and consequences that can arise from blindly following demagogues. Fear, cruelty, mass hysteria, suspicion, and betrayal are almost inevitable outcomes. Dubious conspiracy theories can then arise to justify all of the mayhem. The many parallels between medieval witch hunts and current events seem clear. The rights of women and minorities are eroded; freedom and law are threatened; truth becomes questionable; and common-sense falls by the wayside.

Meyer takes as her inspiration the witch trials that occurred in East Anglia during the 17th century. She convincingly evokes the cruelty, misogyny, paranoia, fear, and mass hysteria that always seem to accompany such events throughout history. In her novel, Meyer particularly takes aim at the role played by men in the persecution of women.

Martha Hallybread is a middle-aged woman living peacefully in the fictional coastal village of Cleftwater when the witchfinder arrives. Her skills as an herbalist, midwife and healer are important assets for this isolated close-knit community. Nonetheless, she is marginalized because of a vague condition that has left her unable to speak. Clearly, this is meant to serve as a powerful symbol for the silencing of women. However, Meyer’s treatment of Martha’s affliction seems awkward. Despite providing her with a rich inner life and emphasizing her thoughts in italics, one is never quite sure how Martha actually communicates. Gestures seem important, and her close friends do seem to understand her well enough. However, all of this handwaving seems quite improbable. Another unresolved problem with the voice issue is its nature. Martha’s belief that some form of worm or snake inhabits her throat is not a very satisfying explanation.

Witch hunts are common plot devices in literature, but Meyer’s rendition seems exceptionally dark. The victims are tortured to extract confessions. They are broken down by endless walking and swimming; deprived of food, water, and sleep; and kept under inhumane conditions in a filthy jail cell, which at one point is inundated by coastal flooding. The treatment of the pregnant Agnes is particularly vile as she is forced to give birth under these appalling conditions. Meyer employs an intriguing wrinkle to the witch trope, however. She places Martha in the compromising position of actually working with the witchfinders to betray her friends.

Another twist to the classical witch hunt plot is Martha’s concern that she may actually be a real witch and eventually would be discovered. She inherited a mysterious doll (poppet) from her mother and was told it would protect her. Such artifacts are not uncommon in the historical record. However, Meyer’s treatment of this poppet seems vague. The thing is only made of wax, and despite being abused in lots of ways during the novel, it never seems to lose its shape. Moreover, how one is supposed to use it is neither adequately revealed nor is it ever even shown to be a useful form of protection against the witch hunt.

Notwithstanding these shortcomings, Meyer's vivid storytelling and well-researched historical backdrop make this an engaging and thought-provoking read. She excels at capturing the atmosphere and mindset of the time and place. From the descriptions of the village and its inhabitants to the superstitious beliefs and religious fervor of the era, she brings the Middle Ages to life, immersing readers in a world that can be quite chilling.

Meyer’s plot skillfully highlights the dark side of human nature by delving into the psychology of mob mentality and the destructive power of scapegoating. Yet its resolution is not very satisfying. Everything just seems to evaporate in the end. No one ever pays a price and one is thus left wondering if mankind can learn anything from this kind of hysteria.

The Witching Tide, a story about witch hunting in the 17th Century, is what I want historical fiction to be. Not just well written, but also enlightening. It’s a reminder that men held all the power and when things go wrong, it’s women that bear the pain. Even the drunkards’ words held more sway than a sober woman. Being rich provided no safety net. Even a careless remark by a priest could land him in hot water.
Martha is a mute servant woman, who also acts as the village’s midwife. The rumors begin flying just as the witchfinder comes to Cleftwater. Soon, everything is being laid at various women’s feet - dead babies, bad winter weather, illnesses, sunken ships, dead animals. No one stops to think how such a small village could hold so many witches. Guards from other towns are brought in and the gaol runs out of space. And then, Martha is corralled into helping examine the women for marks of the devil.
The book is well written and the characters were fleshed out. It’s not an easy book to read, especially the ability to quickly turn on a neighbor, the walking torture of the supposed witches. But it was a gripping story. Martha’s torment and guilt were so real.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

The Witching Tide is a story based on the 1600’s witch trial era.
I did like the twist with our main character being mute.
The other characters were like well flushed out and did want to see how their stories played out.

I also enjoyed the added behind the scenes during the trials and the brutality unleashed to hunt these supposed witches.

With all that being said, there was not much though that made me excited to get back to the story to read.
Overall if you are into this time period and witch trials you will enjoy it.
Thank you to Net Galley , Margaret Meyer and Scribner Publishing for the eARC of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

So, I personally did not enjoy this book. It was pretty triggering for me based on the proverbial witch hunts that are going on with librarians around the country right now. That being said, this book was beautifully written and really well done. I am giving it 5 stars because I think it was a 5 star book despite how upsetting it was to me on a personal level. The characters are well rounded and impeccably fleshed out. They feel like real people, and I mean that in the best and worst ways possible. Meyer did a beautiful job of capturing humanity in all its beauty as well as its ugliness. The plot and atmosphere were incredibly well done. I felt the foreboding laced throughout the book. Very well done.

The incredible richness of the author's descriptions makes this book a winner, for me, although patience is required because there is a lot of detail put into building atmosphere. As I am fairly new to the witch trials, having read only one other book on the subject, I devoured this story set in an historic and horrific time period -- horrific and treacherous for women, that is. Martha, a speechless mute, is portrayed well, and since she is the main character of the book, hats off to the author for making her believable without her saying a word. Through her eyes, we witness the unjust treatment of the women accused of witchery, their fate, and finally, an ultimate irony. Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.

The expertly written atmosphere and clear tie in with the history behind the theming of this story I found absolutely gripping, and I could not wait to dive in to this story. I do love a good witchy tale, especially when real life history is involved. The author is phenomenal with theming and details.

Sadly, I found it difficult to follow along with the language used and often found myself rereading whole passages to completely understand what I just read. While I eventually became use to spoken language, it took away from the pleasure of reading what I felt could be an utterly gripping tale.

I also found myself not connecting with the main protagonist, even though I really enjoy witchy characters and theming. I honestly cannot place exactly what it was about her that I didn't care for, and admittedly that could be my own personal lack of connection emotionally to her personality.

Perhaps I need to go back and reread at a different time, the story itself was very well plotted and I found myself researching the East Anglia witch hunt. Perhaps coming back with more historical knowledge and a mindset to read in the language of the past is what I need to fully love this book.

I wanted to love this so much. It has history and witches - two of my favorite things.

However, this book fell flat for me, but I think it’s me. The characters’ dialog was written as if they were speaking as Brits in the 1600s spoke (I find reading dialect very tedious). The places were described in almost Dickensian detail. And ultimately, there was so much authentic history in the book, that I didn’t end up caring about the characters at all.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of the tale surrounding witchcraft in the 1600’s is right up my alley, I had incredibly high hopes for this work. Meyer’s prose was absolutely poetic and beautiful, she takes you right back to the time and you truly feel like you are immersed.

However, I felt very uninspired by the main character, and considering the entirety of the story revolves around hoping she does not get condemned for witchcraft… I feel that is a major point of contention.
Beautifully written story that fell flat for me.