The Last Witchfinder – James Morrow
Hachette Livre Phoenix, 2007
564 pages
RRP: AU$22.95
ISBN: 978-0-7538-2153-4

Reviewed by Lev Lafayette

This is, to put simply, a brilliant piece of historical fiction that combines fact and theme, poetic license and in-depth knowledge. As the title suggests, the story is set in the seventeenth century. The heroine of the story, Jennet Stearn, daughter of the Witchfinder General, learns natural philosophy from her aunt, Isobel, who is eventually executed as a witch. A young Jennet takes the opportunity to swear an oath to herself to end the statute of witchcraft, as her father is sent to the colonies (as Isobel was a “lady”) as both punishment and “reward”. He soon finds himself embroiled in hunting down Satanists in the rather famous township of Salem.

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