Summary: Catching a Witch by Heidi Eljarbo
What Would You Do to Save Your Best
Friend from Burning?
The year 1660 is when it all changed...
That's when a witch-hunter comes to Clara Dahl's seaside
village in Norway. She's horrified to discover how fast her neighbors and
friends are to turn against each other. She soon realizes her sleepy, little,
picturesque corner of the world has been invaded by evil—and it has nothing to
do with witchcraft.
As neighbor turns against neighbor, Clara finds herself drawn
into the fray, forced to do what she can to protect her friends and loved ones.
An educated and upstanding minister's daughter, Clara speaks out against the
witch-hunter's unjust treatment of those accused of witchcraft. She sees how he
plays the villagers, using their superstitions and religious beliefs to make
good people accept horrible things.
When Clara’s best friend Bess is accused of being a witch,
Clara must make an incredible sacrifice to save not only her friend, but the
entire town… before it’s too late.
About
the Book
In 1660, women had no voting rights, couldn’t own property,
and were treated as second-class citizens. If that weren’t bad enough, many
innocent women—especially poor women—were tried and executed for witchcraft.
The people responsible for their deaths were often their own friends, family
members, and neighbors.
Catching a Witch is a story about a young woman who's willing
to do whatever it takes to protect the people she cares about most in this
world.
You’ll love this book if you enjoy…
Historical dramas
Witches and witch hunting
Historical thrillers
The history of religion and superstitions
A story with a strong female protagonist fighting for what’s
right
Book Review: Catching a Witch by Heidi Eljarbo
When Clara Dahl returns to seemingly quiet and idyllic
little Norwegian town, Rossby, she is shocked to find a witch hunter is invited
to weed out the female population. Supported by town council, untrue and silly
allegations are made against women and Clara has to take drastic measures to prevent
her best friend from being tried as a witch. On this quest a couple of
surprising allies turn up.
Catching a Witch by Heidi Eljarbo is about, Clara Dahl who lives in idyllic little town, Rossby, in western Norway. The town gets a visit from famous English witch hunter Angus Hill. Rumors and allegations are made by children and people with all kinds of agendas to cast blame on town’s women. With an unbelievable mixture of misguided beliefs and share callousness Angus Hill rounds up innocent women, including Clara's best friend Bess, and throws them in jail. In danger of being declared a witch herself Clara tries to speak in their favor, but as a woman she is not heard. She has to resort to drastic measures and the help of a couple of surprising allies to free the “suspects”.
Main character Clara Dahl is the well educated and privileged
minister’s daughter who has an exotic background very different from others in the
village. She has a mindset reminiscent of today. I find her kind
and assertive even though she seems to view herself as slightly introverted and
is my favorite character in this story.
Innkeeper/Councilman Hansen seems to have plenty of negative
traits. I find him disrespectful and focused on keeping up his power and reputation.
He carries around a stick he uses to beat children who get in his way. When deciding
my least favorite character there is plenty to choose from, but Hansen is certainly
right at the top of the list.
I felt the writing of Catching
a Witch was vivid,
descriptive and engaging.
I enjoyed the descriptions of village health care and the
closeness of women in the little village community. The use of medicinal herbs
seemed close to cooking and the natural knowledge of women brought from
mother to daughter through generations I find fascinating. These descriptions
were my favorite parts of the story.
The witch trials described seemed to have elements of gruesome
entertainment which reminds me of descriptions of be-headings in town squares in
the Middle Ages. I felt a hurtful lump in my stomach reading these parts
of the story. Most savage methods were used against innocent, even pregnant,
women. This was my least favorite part of this story, although I
appreciated the dramatic element.
As I have not read any other historical fiction work set in Norway
1600s, I think the research of village life in western Norway was educational and
great. The witch hunter’s methods and activities I found mind numbingly atrocious.
-Good writing.
Similar authors to explore might be Geraldine Brooks, Katherine
Howe, Kathleen Kent or Elizabeth George Speare.
Thank you to author Heidi
Eljarbo for providing this copy which gave me the opportunity to share my
honest review. All opinions in this review are completely my own.
My rating: 3 stars / 5
Main reasons: Good character
development and research, Vivid writing
Get your copy here
Book Details: (from Amazon)
Publisher: TCK Publishing (July 27, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1631610333
ISBN-13: 978-1631610332
About The Author
Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of Catching a Witch and its sequel Trailing the Hunter. She grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, thirteen grandchildren--so far--in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier and a bird. Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter. Heidi's favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.If you would like to know more, please visit:
https://www.heidieljarbo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorheidieljarbo/
https://no.pinterest.com/heidieljarbo/
https://www.instagram.com/heidieljarbo/
Twitter: @HeidiEljarbo
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