The Ten Best Witch Historical Fiction Novels – by Anna Mazzola

Witches are, in the perhaps unfortunate words of Grazia magazine, ‘hot right now’, both on screen and in books. Stacey Halls’ The Familiars is spending its third week in The Times bestselling fiction list, Laura Bates’ YA debut, The Burning, is making waves, and A Discovery of Witches is now an international bestseller and a TV series.

Several other recent novels feature witchcraft including Caroline Lea’s superb The Glass Girl (set against the backdrop of the 17th-century Icelandic witch trials) and E.C. Fremantle’s brilliant thriller The Poison Bed. “‘Witch,” says one of her characters. “That’s what happens to women who don’t do as they’re told.”  Each novel uses witchcraft to highlight the misogyny and fear of women’s sexuality that remain relevant today, together with the terrible power of false accusations. As Willow Winsham says in her fascinating book Accused: British Witches Throughout History, ‘if anyone could be a witch, then literally everyone was suspect.’

A coven of other witch books are due out in the coming months including Katie Lowe’s haunting debut, The Furies, Carla by Laura Legge, Her Kind by Niamh Boyce, Remember Tomorrow by Amanda Saint and Witchery by Juliet Diaz, which will explain ‘how to connect with the power of your inner witch’. There is, it seems, something potent in the air.

Here, in no particular order, I list ten of my favourite witch-based historical novels, followed by several others that have been strongly recommended.

1. Corrag, Susan Fletcher 

It is 1692 and Corrag, a wild young girl from the mountains of Scotland, has been condemned to death for her role in the Glencoe Masscare, accused of witchcraft and murder. In her filthy cell she is visited by Charles Leslie, a young Irishman with his own motives for questioning her.

As Corrag begins to tell her story, an unlikely friendship develops between them that will change both their lives. Compelling, atmospheric and exquisitely written.

2. The Witchfinder's Sister, Beth Underdown

Beth Underdown’s clever debut is a historical thriller based on the life of the 1640’s witchfinder Matthew Hopkins. Alice, Matthew’s fictional sister, is forced to return to her childhood town of Manningtree where she becomes entangled in her brother’s crazed pursuit of what he believes to be justice. Underdown brilliantly weaves fact with fiction to illustrate the disturbing paranoia and obsession behind the Essex witch hunts.

3. The King's Witch, Tracy Borman 

Historian Tracy Borman’s debut novel tells the fascinating story of Frances Gorges, a healer who is dragged to the court of James I, a man who has already condemned many for treason and witchcraft. There she becomes enmeshed in a world of intrigue and betrayal - and at great risk from the twisted machinations of Lord Cecil, the King's first minister.

The follow-up, The Devil’s Slave, is out June.

4. The Vanishing Witch, Karen Maitland

In Lincoln during the reign of Richard II, Caitlin, a dark-haired widow arrives in John of Gaunt's city with her two beautiful children. At first, Caitlin is considered a godsend, helping merchant Robert of Bassingham care for his sick wife. But when Robert's wife, and then others, die seemingly unnatural deaths, the accusations of witchcraft commence. Masterful storytelling.

5. The Familiars – Stacey Halls

17-year-old Fleetwood Shuttleworth, desperate to survive her latest pregnancy, crosses paths with Alice Gray, a mysterious young woman who agrees to become her midwife. When Alice is accused as part of the Lancashire witch trials, Fleetwood takes huge risks to try to save her – and her own unborn baby. But is Alice all that she seems?

Fast-faced, twisty and immense fun.

6. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Elizabeth George Speare 

In 1687 orphan Kit Tyler arrives as a stranger in colonial Connecticut and feels entirely out of place. When she forms a friendship with a Quaker woman called Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, Kit is forced to choose between love and a sense of duty. Old, but gold.

7. Circe, Madeline Miller 

In this epic and magnificently written novel, Miller retells the story of the mythological witch Circe. Increasingly isolated by her immortal family, Circe turns to humans for friendship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.

We follow Circe from the halls of Helios to exile on the remote island of Aiaia, where she learns to harness her power.

8. Witch Child, Celia Rees

In 1659, after 14-year-old Mary sees her healer grandmother hanged for witchcraft, she escapes to Massachusetts Bay Colony with the help of an unknown woman. Through Mary's journal, we learn of how, though Mary hopes to make a new life among the pilgrims, she, like her grandmother, quickly finds herself the victim of ignorance and prejudice, and once more she faces important choices to ensure her survival. A powerful read for all ages.

9. The Glass Girl, Caroline Lea

The Glass Girl is an atmospheric and beautifully written debut set against the backdrop of the 17th-century Icelandic witch trials and sagas. Rósa is sent to join her new husband in the remote village of Stykkishólmur, where the villagers are deeply wary of outsiders.

As she grows increasingly isolated, Rósa's suspicions grow. Her husband buried his first wife alone in the dead of night. Is her own life in danger?

10. The Poison Bed, E.C. Fremantle

In 1615 Lady Frances Carr, considered by many to be a witch, is accused of murder and imprisoned, together with her newborn baby and a wet-nurse. As Frances tells the story of her life with her first husband and manipulative uncle, and of a society full of superstition and lies, a picture begins to form. But her husband Robert Carr has his own story. Which one will save its teller? A twisty, perfectly paced thriller.

Witchy 'To be Read' Pile 

A host of other witch and witchcraft-related books have been recommended to me and I set out here a few of those which are going on my towering ‘to be read’ pile:

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. In 1666 villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and witch-hunting.

The Daylight Gate, in which Jeanette Winterson creates another view of the Pendle Witch Trials.

Lolly Willowes, Sylvia Townsend-Warner’s first novel about a young woman who believes she has sold her soul to the devil in return for freedom from her tiresome family (fair enough).

Widdershins by Helen Steadman, based on events from the Newcastle Witch Trials of 1650.

The Magpie Tree by Katherine Stansfield, exploring the relationship between witchcraft and foreigners in 1840s Cornwall.

Witches Trinity by Erika Mailman, set in Germany in 1507 when a visiting friar suggests that witchcraft is to blame for the failing crops and famine.

The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth, a historical fantasy trilogy in which the young Isabeau leads a horde of persecuted witches.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay, a mystery set in Manhattan in 1880.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent, set in Salem in 1692.

The Boy Who Drew The Future, by Rhian Ivory. Set in present day and 1863, when the last witch in the UK was swum in Sible Hedingham, Essex. You can read more about it here.


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Anna Mazzola is a writer of historical crime and Gothic fiction. Her second novel, The Story Keeper, is a tale of superstition, dark folklore and missing girls on the Isle of Skye.

https://annamazzola.com
https://twitter.com/Anna_Mazz

An interview with Livi Michael by Adèle Geras

Livi Michael and I share a birthday, though she's much younger than I am. She was born in Manchester in 1960 and her first novel, Under a Thin Moon, was published in 1992. Since then she's written for both adults and children. Her Frank the Hamster books are for younger readers but she's also published historical novels for older children (see the interview below.) She has a doctorate from the University of Leeds where her thesis was about Lewis Grassic Gibbons's A Scots Quair in the context of working class fiction. She's taught creative writing and English literature at Sheffield Hallam University and and is at present teaching these subjects at Manchester Metropolitan University. She lectures and gives workshops all over the country. She lives on the edge of the moors in Saddleworth.

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When I read her latest book, MALKIN CHILD I was very impressed and as well as reviewing it (my review appears at the end of this interview) I wanted to ask Livi some questions the answers to which I thought would interest readers of this blog. I sent these questions by email and here reproduce them, and Livi's answers to them.

AG: You've written many different kinds of novel throughout your career, and you write for both adults and children. I love your historical novels in particular and you've brought into the light areas and periods not often written about in fiction, such as the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution (in THE WHISPERING ROAD.) Were you always interested in history? Or was there some other impulse which led you to write about the kinds of things you do write about?

LM: Yes, I've always been interested in history and historical fiction – I loved the novels of Rosemary Sutcliffe and Henry Treece as a child, and took a long time to decide whether I wanted to do English or History at university. These days I usually find that the best stories are often the ones I don’t make up – history is full of amazing stories and I just see myself as presenting or interpreting these in a particular way for the reader.

AG: You are very good at mixing the very real and gritty with an element of magic or the supernatural. Does this create particular problems? How do you overcome these?

LM: I have been known as a writer of ‘realist’ fiction but my idea of realism doesn’t exclude magic or the supernatural. For many people, including the ones who were persecuted for witchcraft, what we think of as ‘supernatural’ was just an accepted part of their lives.

AG: I think of you as very much a northern writer. Is this fair? How large does your own background/upbringing/education loom in what you've written?

LM: Yes, I think I’m a northern writer – haunted in a particular way by its landscapes and by certain voices. My grandmother, for instance, spoke a Lancashire dialect that no longer exists.

AG: The anniversary of the Pendle Witch trials has brought us your excellent new short novel MALKIN'S CHILD It's marketed as being for children and indeed would be a good introduction for them. But as an adult I found it particularly chilling and hard-hitting and this without any grotesque or detailed descriptions of violence. Is less is more a tenet of yours? How did you approach this harrowing story? Was writing it your idea or someone else's?

LM: I was commissioned to write the book by the Litfest organization which has set up the imprint Foxtail in order to publish a few books that commemorate aspects of Lancastrian history. MALKIN CHILD is the third of these books, and, like the others, is beautifully produced. I said yes to the commission straight away, because I was immediately interested in the story, but very quickly realised that there were difficulties. Firstly, it is a very dark story to tell for children, which is why it hasn’t been done for this age group before. No happy ending here. These people were actually sent to their deaths on the testimony of a nine-year-old girl. Secondly, it could have been a huge story. in order to get a clearer picture, you need to go back to the Reformation, and then consider the changes brought about by King James I, and other major factors, geographical and social. But I was asked to write quite a short book, of no more than 20,000 words! Thirdly, if you tell children you are writing a story about witches, in all probability they will expect something like Harry Potter and I didn’t want to disappoint them, but there is a real story here which is powerful and gripping in its own right. Less is more is a good one, Adele – I suppose I saw my job as allowing it to speak for itself. But I really knew I could tell the story when I first heard Jennet’s voice in my mind.

AG:Do you read historical fiction? If so, can you tell us what your favourites are? Would you say that there are writers who have influenced the way you write?

LM: I do read historical fiction and think that some of the best novels around on the contemporary scene are historical – Colm Toibin, Hilary Mantel, Rose Tremain, Sebastian Barry. I've also just read Andrew Miller’s PURE, which I thought was excellent. Also there are your own novels for young adults such as TROY which I loved.

AG: That's very kind of you, Livi. Have you any plans to write further historical novels? And if not, can you tell us what you will be doing next?

LM: I am writing historical fiction at the moment for adults and have just hopefully got an agent interested. Different period this time – 15th century!

I'm very grateful to Livi for answering my questions and now I'll add a brief review of her latest book, which I do urge everyone to read, especially if you've read THE DAYLIGHT GATE by Jeanette Winterson, which deals with the same subject matter in quite a different way.

MALKIN CHILD is a short, beautifully produced novel in which Michael does the seemingly impossible. She finds a way of telling a story of witchhunting and huge suffering and violence in such a way that children can read it both as a tale of the supernatural, and as an accurate depiction of impoverished life in Lancashire hundreds of years ago. She does this sublty, at no time revelling in horrors but because she has found the voice of a child with which to tell the tale, the events of that time are brought very close to us indeed. The great thing about this book is that all parts of it: the content, the manner of its writing, the brevity of it, come together to make a novella that punches above its weight. I can't recommend it enough and to give you a flavour of Michael's style and whet your appetite, I wll quote a passage very near the beginning of the book:

The walls were black with smoke because we had to keep Our Granny's old bones warm. That's her own bones, of course,and the ones she kept in a bag and shook from time to time to keep them lively.