Overview

'Stylish and raw . . . seizes the reader's sympathy and does not let go' Anne Enright, Booker Prize-winning author of The Gathering East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer and servant, has lived for more than four decades in her beloved coastal village of Cleftwater. Everyone knows Martha, but no one has ever heard her speak. One Autumn morning, the peaceful atmosphere of Cleftwater is shattered by a sinister arrival and Martha becomes a silent witness to a witch-hunt. As a trusted member of the community, she is enlisted to search the bodies of the accused women. But whilst Martha wants to help her friends, she also harbours a dark secret that could cost her own freedom. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that she inherited from her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll's true powers are unknowable, the tide is turning, and time is running out . . . An immersive and deeply moving novel inspired by true events, The Witching Tide breathes new life into history whilst holding up a mirror to the world we live in now. A story of loyalty and betrayal, fear and obsession, the impact of misogyny and the power of resistance, it is a magnificent debut from a striking new literary voice. 'Utterly haunting and entirely riveting . . . sent shivers down my spine and brought me to tears' Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne 'A superb writer . . . I loved it' Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters

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9781399605861

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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 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 *

Author Information

Margaret Meyer grew up in New Zealand and now lives in Norwich. She was an editor and publisher before becoming a mental health therapist, working in schools, prisons and addiction recovery centres as well as in private practice. Her debut novel, The Witching Tide, was shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Award and nominated a best book of the year by the Sunday Times and New York Times. Inspired by the East Anglian witch hunt of 1645-7, it is dedicated to the many innocent women who lost their lives.

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