Book Review: Cunning Women

Author: Elizabeth Lee

Publisher: Penguin Books

2022

Genre: Adult Fiction (Romance)

Pages: 365

Date Read: August 2024

Main Characters:

Sarah Haworth (A cunning woman’s daughter)

Daniel Taylor (A farmer’s son and only child)  

Blurb:

Lancashire, 1620. Young Sarah Haworth and her family live as outcasts. They are ‘cunning folk’, feared by the local villagers by day, but called upon under cover of darkness for healing balms and spells.

Against the odds, love blossoms when Sarah meets Daniel, the local farmer’s son.

But when a new magistrate arrives to investigate a spate of strange deaths, his gaze inevitably turns to Sarah and her family. In a world where cunning women are forced into darkness by powerful men, can Sarah reckon wit her fate to protect all she holds dear?

My review:

This is a really powerful and moving story of romance, family loyalty and prejudice. We are first introduced to Sarah and her family made up of her mother (Mam), brother John, and little sister Annie. We learn that they were once a respectable fishing family who have been cast out from society after losing their father (a fisherman) to a storm at sea. Since then, they have been forced to find shelter in the abandoned run-down wooden plague houses at the top of a hill outside the village. The family is forced to beg, borrow and steal in order to make ends meat with Mam using her skills as a cunning woman to help out villagers in times of need. The family barely has enough to get by but share a fierce loyalty to each other especially as the villagers start to turn against them and blame them for illnesses and curses when times are hard. Sarah is torn between wanting to please her mum by learning the cunning ways of using plants and herbs, but also fears what may become of her if she gives in to these instincts and wonders if there is another way forward.

Daniel, the farmer’s son, has lived a rather privileged albeit simple life. His mother died in childbirth leaving just his father to maintain the farm and raise him. Thankfully they do have help in the form of Bett, the maid, and Gabriel, the farmhand. Bett is a hardworking, open-minded individual who keeps a close eye on Daniel. She is almost like a sister or mother figure at times. Gabriel on the other hand, is a brutish boy who is quick to judge and who often makes fun of Daniel especially at the beginning of the book when Daniel is still undertaking the tasks usually performed by a dairy maid.

With Sarah’s curiosity and Daniel’s calm and caring nature particularly around animals, it is perhaps not surprising that a budding romance flows as soon as the two main characters set eyes on each other. The book holds a romance and tragedy element that is very ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in style but set in a different time period and culture. It is clear that Daniel’s father would not accept the match unless some cunning plan can be formed. Luckily, or so it would seem, they have the blessing of the village pastor (Seth/Parson Walsh) on their side. The book is a wonderful page turner as the couple hatch a plan to win favour and start a life together. The reader is left delighting in their successes and reeling from their misfortune as tragedy inevitably strikes.

This is a wonderful story for highlighting the plight of many women around this era when false accusations and superstitions were rife. The new ‘Magistrate Wright’ who is assigned to the village is a great example of one of the many historical figures who helped to stoke the flames of the witchcraft trials and instil fear into many. Sarah and her outcast family were easy pickings from the start. I liked how the author used linguistical choices such as the use of slang terms when narrating Sarah and her family’s point of view at the beginning and how this narrative voice changed slightly as Sarah integrated herself into more civilised society. I thought this was a very clever way of further highlighting their differences in terms of intellect and societal standing. As a reader you do become quite emotionally attached to this simplistic rural family and have a lot of sympathy for them in their day-to-day struggle to survive. Likewise, you can understand Daniel’s internal struggles as he battles with his emotions amid loyalty to his father and the stories he has been fed in his farming upbringing. A brilliantly written historical story that I found hard to put down and which had me reduced to tears at points. Highly recommended.  

Star rating: 5 out of 5.