A beautiful, haunting and utterly transporting novel that takes the reader back to a terrifyingly real witching England: a paranoid society where women's lives are decided by gossip and grudges. Told from the perspective of a silent woman whose inner voice insistently pulls the reader along, The Witching Tide is atmospheric, moving and lyrical * Naomi Wood, author of MRS HEMINGWAY *
I absolutely devoured The Witching Tide. Margaret Meyer evokes the uncanniness, the appalling cruelties of the witch trials in a way that is also thoroughly humane and shining. To read this book is to step inside time, to feel the bite of the sea air, to walk in the grime alongside Martha as she fights the tide of unspeakable cruelty and suspicion. It is a powerful, riveting read, each sentence pristine and haunting, and I can't wait to read what Margaret Meyer writes next * Elizabeth Macneal, author of THE DOLL FACTORY *
A timely, visceral novel that hurls the reader into a claustrophobic rural community riddled with suspicion, fear and recrimination. Margaret Meyer expertly creates an atmosphere of creeping dread, where no one is safe, and women find themselves punished for their own misfortunes and those of their erstwhile friends and neighbours * Natalie Haynes, author of A Thousand Ships *
A superb writer. The world Margaret Meyer conjures in The Witching Tide is elegant and haunting, utterly beguiling and so convincing of time and place. I was moved and gripped by Martha's plight, captivated by the gleaming details of the prose and horrified at the wider picture they revealed. As with all great historical fiction, The Witching Tide gives voice to the unspoken and brings light to dark places, drawing to the surface those stories that need to be told and need us to listen. I loved it * Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters *
The Witching Tide is a beautiful, haunting and utterly transporting novel that takes the reader back to a terrifyingly real witching England: a paranoiac society where women's lives are decided by gossip and grudges. Told from the perspective of a silent woman whose inner voice insistently pulls the reader along, The Witching Tide is atmospheric, moving and lyrical * Naomi Wood, author of Mrs Hemingway *
Both thematically and in the power of its storytelling, The Witching Tide puts me in mind of the very best of Hilary Mantel. But this is very much its own thing - a stunning novel * Nicholas Pearson, Hilary Mantel's long-time editor *
One of this year's notable debuts * Daily Mail *
Bewitching . . . one to watch * Evening Standard *
Utterly haunting and entirely riveting; this is an unflinching account of the horrors of witch trials, told in a mesmerising voice from an extraordinarily talented author. It sent shivers down my spine and brought me to tears * Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne *
The Witching Tide casts a spell that carries readers back to 17th century days of actual witch hunts, when fearmongers spread rumour and false accusations to wield power over women. In bewitching language, Margaret Meyer paints a portrait of a brave midwife determined to outwit the zealots who threaten her, and defeat a contagion of hysteria and violence * Kate Manning, author of Gilded Mountain *
