The Witch

In a small, sleepy town, a mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes immediately apparent, have skills far beyond her own. 'NDiaye at her most dazzling' Katie Kitamura 'This is NDiaye at her disquieting best' New York Magazine Lucie comes from a long line of witches, powers passed down from mother to daughter. Her own mum was formidable in her powers, but ashamed of her magic. Perhaps as a result, Lucie's own gift is weak: she can see into the future, sometimes - but more often, she can only see the present of some other location. Not very useful. And the worst part? All she can ever see are insignificant details - a scrap of outfit, the colour of the sky. Lucie's own children are initiated into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach twelve years of age, and in a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying the curious tears of blood that denote their magical powers. Having learned, they take off quickly and fly the nest. Literally. Witty, dreamlike, vaguely unsettling, and utterly enchanting (pun intended) , The Witch brings the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood into sharp relief and leaves us teetering on the edge, unbalanced by questions as seemingly unbreakable relationships break down left and right. Who is to blame for family failures? And how can you - can you? - build a nest that no one wants to fly?

In a small, sleepy town, a mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes immediately apparent, have skills far beyond her own. 'NDiaye at her most dazzling' Katie Kitamura 'This is NDiaye at her disquieting best' New York Magazine Lucie comes from a long line of witches, powers passed down from mother to daughter. Her own mum was formidable in her powers, but ashamed of her magic. Perhaps as a result, Lucie's own gift is weak: she can see into the future, sometimes - but more often, she can only see the present of some other location. Not very useful. And the worst part? All she can ever see are insignificant details - a scrap of outfit, the colour of the sky. Lucie's own children are initiated into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach twelve years of age, and in a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying the curious tears of blood that denote their magical powers. Having learned, they take off quickly and fly the nest. Literally. Witty, dreamlike, vaguely unsettling, and utterly enchanting (pun intended) , The Witch brings the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood into sharp relief and leaves us teetering on the edge, unbalanced by questions as seemingly unbreakable relationships break down left and right. Who is to blame for family failures? And how can you - can you? - build a nest that no one wants to fly?

A brand-new, haunting thriller from Freida McFadden, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Housemaid ! Some secrets don't die—they wait. When Julia Barlow loses her job and her apartment, she has nowhere left to go but Pemberton, her family's sprawling seventeenth-century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially, she's there to check in on her aging grandmother. Unofficially, she's hoping the old house will give her a place to disappear. Instead, Pemberton begins to unravel her. Every night, the grandfather clock stops at exactly 3:41 a.m. The lights flicker without warning. And a disembodied voice cries for help outside Julia's bedroom door. As Julia digs into the house's dark history, she uncovers the story of a woman executed for witchcraft in 1692—and realizes the past may not be finished with Pemberton yet. When decades of family lies begin to surface, Julia must confront a terrifying truth: Pemberton may be haunted by women whose voices refuse to stay silent. From #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes The Witch , a chilling, twist-filled thriller about secrets—those we inherit, those we bury, and those people will burn to keep silent.

LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE " The Witch is Marie NDiaye at her most dazzling. In this simple, startlingly powerful novel, NDiaye lays out her central themes: familial secrets, power, shame, and liberation. NDiaye is one of the greats--her novels are mesmerizing, wholly singular, completely unforgettable."--Katie Kitamura, author of Audition In a small French town, a mediocre witch trapped in a cruel marriage cries watery tears of blood as she passes on her gifts to her twin daughters, who soon must make a choice: stay close to the nest and the mother who nourished them, or soar away from the dead-end claustrophobia their selfish father has imposed? Lucie comes from a long line of witches, with powers passed down from mother to daughter. Many of them have hidden or repressed their gifts to appease disgusted or fearful men. But against the wishes of her controlling husband, Lucie initiates her twins into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach the age of twelve. In a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying rich crimson tears, their powers quickly becoming more potent than their mother's, opening them to liberation and euphoria beyond what Lucie and her foremothers ever considered. Equal parts dreamlike and disquieting, The Witch tells a tale as old as time, with a dark twist: Without looking back, children fly the nest, laying bare the tenuous threads of family that have long threatened to snap. With simmering tension and increasing panic, NDiaye's latest novel in English captures the terror and precarity of motherhood and marriage, and the uncertainty of slowly realizing that your progeny are more dangerous--to the world and to your heart--and freer than you ever could have dreamed.

LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE " The Witch is Marie NDiaye at her most dazzling. In this simple, startlingly powerful novel, NDiaye lays out her central themes: familial secrets, power, shame, and liberation. NDiaye is one of the greats--her novels are mesmerizing, wholly singular, completely unforgettable."--Katie Kitamura, author of Audition In a small French town, a mediocre witch trapped in a cruel marriage cries watery tears of blood as she passes on her gifts to her twin daughters, who soon must make a choice: stay close to the nest and the mother who nourished them, or soar away from the dead-end claustrophobia their selfish father has imposed? Lucie comes from a long line of witches, with powers passed down from mother to daughter. Many of them have hidden or repressed their gifts to appease disgusted or fearful men. But against the wishes of her controlling husband, Lucie initiates her twins into their family's peculiar womanhood when they reach the age of twelve. In a few short months, Maud and Lise are crying rich crimson tears, their powers quickly becoming more potent than their mother's, opening them to liberation and euphoria beyond what Lucie and her foremothers ever considered. Equal parts dreamlike and disquieting, The Witch tells a tale as old as time, with a dark twist: Without looking back, children fly the nest, laying bare the tenuous threads of family that have long threatened to snap. With simmering tension and increasing panic, NDiaye's latest novel in English captures the terror and precarity of motherhood and marriage, and the uncertainty of slowly realizing that your progeny are more dangerous--to the world and to your heart--and freer than you ever could have dreamed.

A brand-new, haunting thriller from Freida McFadden, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Housemaid ! Some secrets don't die—they wait. When Julia Barlow loses her job and her apartment, she has nowhere left to go but Pemberton, her family's sprawling seventeenth-century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially, she's there to check in on her aging grandmother. Unofficially, she's hoping the old house will give her a place to disappear. Instead, Pemberton begins to unravel her. Every night, the grandfather clock stops at exactly 3:41 a.m. The lights flicker without warning. And a disembodied voice cries for help outside Julia's bedroom door. As Julia digs into the house's dark history, she uncovers the story of a woman executed for witchcraft in 1692—and realizes the past may not be finished with Pemberton yet. When decades of family lies begin to surface, Julia must confront a terrifying truth: Pemberton may be haunted by women whose voices refuse to stay silent. From #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes The Witch , a chilling, twist-filled thriller about secrets—those we inherit, those we bury, and those people will burn to keep silent.

Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history "Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history."-Los Angeles Times The witch came to prominence-and often a painful death-in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early-modern stake. This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective and traces the major historiographical developments of witchcraft. Hutton, a renowned expert on ancient, medieval, and modern paganism and witchcraft beliefs, combines Anglo-American and continental scholarly approaches to examine attitudes on witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and North and South America, and from ancient pagan times to current interpretations. His fresh anthropological and ethnographical approach focuses on cultural inheritance and change while considering shamanism, folk religion, the range of witch trials, and how the fear of witchcraft might be eradicated.

Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history "Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history."-Los Angeles Times The witch came to prominence-and often a painful death-in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early-modern stake. This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective and traces the major historiographical developments of witchcraft. Hutton, a renowned expert on ancient, medieval, and modern paganism and witchcraft beliefs, combines Anglo-American and continental scholarly approaches to examine attitudes on witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and North and South America, and from ancient pagan times to current interpretations. His fresh anthropological and ethnographical approach focuses on cultural inheritance and change while considering shamanism, folk religion, the range of witch trials, and how the fear of witchcraft might be eradicated.