| The Witches of Vardø

by Anya Bergman

Published : 5th January 2023

Publisher : Manilla Press

Format : Kindle, Audio, Hardback

Genre : Historical Fiction

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Synopsis

They will have justice.

They will show their power.

They will not burn.

Norway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. After recently widowed Zigri's affair with the local merchant is discovered, she is sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried as a witch.

Zigri's daughter Ingeborg sets off into the wilderness to try to bring her mother back home. Accompanying her on this quest is Maren - herself the daughter of a witch - whose wild nature and unconquerable spirit gives Ingeborg the courage to venture into the unknown, and to risk all she has to save her family.

Also captive in the fortress is Anna Rhodius, once the King of Denmark's mistress, who has been sent in disgrace to the island of Vardø. What will she do - and who will she betray - to return to her privileged life at court?

These Witches of Vardø are stronger than even the King. In an age weighted against them, they refuse to be victims. They will have their justice. All they need do is show their power.

My Review

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯,' 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳?' 𝘐𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘒𝘳𝘰𝘨, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.

𝘞𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘒𝘳𝘰𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘨'𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘐𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.'

Thank you so much @manilla_press for this absolutely captivating and spellbinding story of the Norwegian witch trials in the 1600s.

Im a huge fan of witchy reads and was instantly struck by the byline

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯.

The writer slowly introduces you to two specific characters, Ingeborg, a sixteen year old girl and Anna a woman imprisoned on the island of Vargo.

As the story unfolds simultaneously between the two narratives we build up a picture of what has happened/happening in their lives to bring them to the fortress on the island of Vardo.

Throughout Ingeborg’s, chapters we watch as her happy family is broken and her mother spirals leaving two girls, Ingeborg and her sister Kirsten to fend for themselves. During this spiral, of grief their mother begins an affair with a married noble and is labelled a witch. She is carted off to the island to be questioned and tried.

This I found heartbreaking to read. Knowing that women were truly blamed for bad weather, failed crops and other natural crises creates a fury in my stomach at the stupidity of these men.

Anna on the other hand tell us her story of how she became a prisoner through letters she writes to her king who she is devoutly loyal even though it is clear he put her there. What's so sad about Anna's story is the way in which the King treated Anna, yet her faith in him is still so unwavering.

She is a strong and impressive female character and it isn’t long before she has been tasked with getting a confession out of the blamed women in return of a pardon she expects to come from her king.

I loved Anna’s strength and her incremental back story. She was fast my favourite character until I neared the end and Maren, Ingeborg's cousin and Ingeborg just both shined through with their own strength and resilience and their faith that maybe, just maybe they could fly away and be safe away from these men and their abusing tyrannical ways and accusing words.

Weaved throughout the entire story is a constant echo of Norwegian folklore, from old tales retold to words that are whispered leaving you constantly wondering if these people did actually harbour some age-old magic or whether they were the desperate hopes of scared and desperate people.

The entire atmosphere of this story is one of foreboding and throughout it retains the disturbing feeling they dwells in the pit of your stomach.

This story evokes all the emotions for a woman. Anger, heartbreak, utter disbelief at how women were once treated. It was a book I literally swept through and was left thinking about long after I was finished.

Rating

★★★★★

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