harrison ainsworth the lancashire witches

It's an absorbing historical romance whose plot is propelled by fantasy - unless, of course, you believe that witches of the 16th century truly communed with the devil and were capable of casting malicious spells. The Lancashire Witches is my first Ainsworth novel and what is touted as one of his better efforts. Definitely one I'd recommend to people who like supernatural, Gothic, Victorian fiction. Unfortunately, most of the witches are killed at the end of the 2nd part and the third part deals mostly with the King's visit, which isn't nearly as interesting, but thankfully the ending makes up for that. I enjoyed it so much I returned to the oxfam where I found it and bought the other three novels by Ainsworth. It was a wonderful Gothic novel, with lots of agency for the women (even the good ones). Unlike the Scott, so much happened, there was a prequel establishing the witches family, and then their troubles in the time of King James I. This was a wonderful Gothic story with witches (both good and bad), ghostly monks, and power hungry nobles. I was a bit wearing starting this after the last Scott I read being so disappointing but this was not at all. My goodness it took me a month to read this! But then it was a very long 19th century book that I mostly read a few pages off before I fell asleep at night. See Discovery of Witches: The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster for an excellent account of the Witch trials.Įven though many books have been written over the years about the Lancashire Witches, this in my mind's eye is a must read. This is because WHA puts his own slant on the story, deviates from the true facts, the dialect and also a 19th century novel. For anyone that does not know anything about the Lancashire Witches, there are other easier texts to read before tackling this one. Not an easy book for some to read because of all the Lancashire dialect, and a lot of people even abandon reading it.Ī great novel, and perhaps WHA's most famous. The first time that I read W H Ainsworth's book was when I was 15, then I re read it again in the mid 1980s.

I recently downloaded the Kindle version, so thought I'd write a review. A time when people dress up in all sorts of scary costumes and walk up Pendle after dark.

However, the only Witches that I have seen on Pendle have been on Halloween. The most memorable occasions being on Halloween and also on Good Friday. I've lost count of the number of times that I walked up Pendle Hill in my youth. I'm a Lancashire Lass, and have been brought up with tales of the Lancashire Witches and the famous Witch trials of 1612.

Harrison ainsworth the lancashire witches