In a Nutshell: This was a mixed bag for me. The concept was great but the execution didn’t do the story much favour. Might work for those looking for an interesting plot without much bothering about character development or writing. Finally, in this time of climate crisis, witches speak to the relationship between humanity and nature and a reverence for nature. A lot of people identify with being witches because of this spirit and connecting to the rebel within ourselves. Let’s not take this lying down! So. For me the tragedy of the witch-hunts is in this - people are so afraid of life, of our inability to control the events that we are always in search of simple answers or even someone to blame. And it's so easy to blame those who are different or who are weak or can't protect themselves. It's human nature and the thing we face in modern times too. So yes, hundreds of Saami people and Norwegian (mostly) women were burnt for the greater good by zealous people. It's always hurt to see how easy to persuade the crowd in any allegations if they make them feel better, and understand why bad things happened to them. Even those who were your friends and neighbors yesterday. This is a tragic, horrifying, and raw theme. Can you tell me about your depiction of Anna Rhodius? It feels like a counterpoint and rebuke to the usual historical narrative. I immediately wanted to google her story. In the winter and spring of 1621 a witch trial took place at the fortress of Vardøhus in Vardø, the center of Norwegian Finnmark. There a woman from Kiberg, Mari Jørgensdatter, was interrogated under torture on 21 January. She said that Satan had come to her at night at Christmas 1620 and asked her to follow him to the house of her neighbor Kirsti Sørensdatter. He asked her if she would serve him, and she said yes, after which he gave her the witch's brand by biting her between the fingers of her left hand. [3]

We follow the story of Zigri's arrest, imprisonment in the fortress at Vardø, and trial for witchcraft through the eyes of her eldest daughter, Ingeborg. Ingeborg is determined to rescue her mother and sets out to do so, placing herself and her younger sister in danger. She is accompanied by Maren, the daughter of a woman executed for witchcraft, who urges Ingeborg to trust in the power of women to resist the actions of men and seems able to harness the forces of nature in ways which introduce a supernatural element to the story. Right from the beginning, I always felt the parallels with society now. It was quite stunning how things were synchronising with the Me Too movement as I was discovering that some of what was going on with these women was connected with sexual agency. And other things in the world were paralleling this story: like the shrinking of women’s rights, how powerful women were being treated, and the treatment of menopausal women. I felt like there were a lot of themes within the book that were mirroring contemporary concerns. The nearby mountain Domen, where many of the accused witches were said to have met, is now home to a shelter to rest and enjoy the ocean view. The trials in popular culture Men have been accused of witchcraft. But at the heart of it was misogyny mixed in with religion. Scapegoating was one of the big reasons why women were persecuted for witchcraft – and still are in certain parts of India and Africa. When things go well: grand. When things go wrong: they’re a witch. As inspiration, this book takes real witch trials that happened in Norwegian Vardo in the 17th century. This topic interested me and I read a couple of books about witch hunts the last year. This book happens in the same setting The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave took place. And even though I didn't love The Mercies, reading this book made me value and appreciate it much more.Alongside this is the first person narrative of Anna Rhodius, former mistress of the King of Denmark, who has been banished to Vardø for reasons she does not understand, much like the unnamed queen in J. R. Thorp's Learwife. She becomes convinced the way to restore her liberty is to assist the Governor of Finnmark in his mission to search out witches, viewed as a 'blight' on the kingdom of Denmark and held responsible for happenings such as storms, the loss of ships and the spread of disease. 'Yes, yes, now I understand your intent because my exile was a ruse, a pretence, was it not? I am not prisoner but a soldier under your command.' It results in her entering into an agreement with the Governor that is akin to 'a pact with the Devil'. The dreadful consequences of the bargain she has made only become apparent much later, although as her own sad history is revealed we learn a little more about her motivation. So I don't really know how to feel about the ''oh but they were ACTUALLY witches" trope, or "we are the daughters of witches you couldn't burn" - used by modern wiccans or something.

I really think that when men have forced physical relations with maidens claiming ' The girl/women lured them into it because they were witches pissed by Devils charms'.... Those men should have been burned on stakes too! It enrages me to read such things and the more I read, I feel the lesser aware I was about the history of this world 🌎🌍 But I also think that there’s an aspect of it whereby it gives the readers a sense of community. Everyone feels a bit marginalised; we all feel like we don’t quite fit in. These books create a community for those people who maybe don’t want to follow the traditional pathways.It’s been established long ago that I’m a fan of novels that dip into the history of witches and witch trials, so this one was always going to be a winner for me. It’s quite a slow burn, as many of these stories tend to be. The groundwork needs to be laid, the characters’ lives fleshed out so we can see them day to day before we bear witness on how they go from ordinary women to accused witches awaiting trial and being tortured into making confessions to crimes they did not commit. Altogether, it's believed that 140 witch trials were held across Finnmark in the 17th century. Of those, 90 people were condemned to death. Vardø is exposed to the Barents Sea. Photo: Asbjørn Nilsen / Statens vegvesen

This story really is fascinating. I was enthralled by the way the author buit up the atmosphere and landscape. The writing is like something out of Shakespeare’s time – rich in tambour and nuance. However, this is very easy to read. No head-shaking here. Well, not at the language. What you find out about how and why women were accused of witchery deeds, then I was not only shaking my head but wanting to slap the next fictional character who invented a new reason to destroy a woman’s life. The Norwegian landscape is a huge part of it. I wrote one draft in Norway. Then I moved to Scotland. I rewrote it during the pandemic. I was on my own and I was able to really go into the zone. It was quite a tough book to write due to what was going on with the characters. I would wake up with night terrors: that I, myself, was in the witch’s hole.Hagen, Rune (2008-06-24). "The witch‐hunt in early modern Finnmark". Acta Borealia. 16: 43–62. doi: 10.1080/08003839908580487. Barbra from Vadsø was pointed out by Maren as one of those who had been flying with Dorthe on Domen. Barbra said that Maren had accused her, encouraged by doctor's wife Anne Rhodius, who had been exiled from Oslo to northern Norway with her husband because of conflicts in Oslo, and that the doctor and his wife had pointed out the wife and daughter of one of the members of the court as witches. This was ignored and Barbra was burned with four other women 8 April 1663. Norway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. When recently widowed Zigri embarks on a doomed affair with the local merchant, she is inevitably sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried and condemned as a witch.