Author: Beth Underdown
Length: 368 pages
The Witchfinder’s Sister
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Description
“Essex, England, 1645. With a heavy heart, Alice Hopkins returns to the small town she grew up in. Widowed, with child, and without prospects, she is forced to find refuge at the house of her younger brother, Matthew. In the five years she has been gone, the boy she knew has become a man of influence and wealth—but more has changed than merely his fortunes. Alice fears that even as the cruel burns of a childhood accident still mark his face, something terrible has scarred Matthew’s soul.
There is a new darkness in the town, too—frightened whispers are stirring in the streets, and Alice’s blood runs cold with dread when she discovers that Matthew is a ruthless hunter of suspected witches. Torn between devotion to her brother and horror at what he’s become, Alice is desperate to intervene—and deathly afraid of the consequences. But as Matthew’s reign of terror spreads, Alice must choose between her safety and her soul.
Alone and surrounded by suspicious eyes, Alice seeks out the fuel firing her brother’s brutal mission—and is drawn into the Hopkins family’s past. There she finds secrets nested within secrets: and at their heart, the poisonous truth. Only by putting her own life and liberty in peril can she defeat this darkest of evils—before more innocent women are forced to the gallows.
Inspired by the real-life story of notorious ‘Witchfinder General’ Matthew Hopkins, Beth Underdown’s thrilling debut novel blends spellbinding history with echoes of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale for a truly haunting reading experience.”
Janet Dore –
⭐️⭐️⭐️-3/4
“For it is a choice, I think, to close the heart, just as it is a choice to open it. It is a choice to look at what distresses you, and a choice to shut your eyes. It is a choice to hold tight, your pain, or else to let it slip your grass, said it free or make it’s Mark upon the world.”
I’ve been fascinated by witch trials since I was a young girl, no doubt because I was burned in a previous life 🔥
“The Witchfinder’s Sister” is the story of a disgusting human being known as Matthew Hopkins, who was responsible for a prolific witch hunt in England around 1645 that resulted in the hanging of over 100 women.
Matthew’s story is told by his sister, Alice, who is not really known to have existed. It’s yet another horrific story of a man compensating for his weakness and ineptitude by killing elderly and mentally ill women, or any woman who dared to challenge him in some direct or imaginary way.
This book reminded me of two things:
1) Men weren’t the only ones guilty in the witch hunts; insecure and weak women were culpable as well. It was truly devastating what was done by the most deplorable of both genders behind the shield of Christianity.
2) Not all church leaders were supportive of the witch hunts.
The story is heavily fictionalized and, in my opinion, the author took that a bit too far at the very end. It’s highly unlikely that it actually ended in the way she described. But, I learned a lot and am better for having read this heartbreaking story.