My Five Word TL:DR Review: Fantastic, Truth Based Historical Fiction

The Last Witch is a phenomenal read.  It’s tense, dark, cruel and totally compelling.  I absolutely loved CJ Cooke’s A Haunting in the Arctic, a shocking and highly spooky ghost story that I thought would be difficult to surpass but The Last Witch certainly comes close to doing so.

Put simply I don’t really think I can do this book justice in a review but I’ll give it a shot.

The writing is absolutely beautiful, which is a strange thing to say when so much of the story is composed of misogyny and violence towards women.  It is without doubt a shocking read, not gratuitous I must say, just totally horrifically mind blowing in the way it relates the injustices of the era.

This is a story set in Austria during the 15th century.  Women’s lives were certainly not their own during that period and when the witch hunts began many women became scapegoats, blamed for crops failing to children becoming ill.  Accusations, many from bitter, jealous or thwarted neighbours were treated as hard fact and the women accused were tortured to make them confess.

Helena Schueberin had drawn the notice of a religious zealot, a priest who eventually became one of the most feared witch hunters in Europe and went on to write and publish the Malleus Maleficarum.  Heinrich Kramer makes it his mission to clean up the quiet city of Innsbruck of witches – and apparently the city is overrun.  Taken into custody along with six other women Helena was starved, tortured and treated despicably but remained firm in her determination to speak out against the injustices.

I have to say this is so well written, it’s one of the most gripping historical stories that I’ve read.  It’s so powerful, the writing brings the setting alive, the fear, the appalling conditions, Cooke doesn’t shy away from the bitter truth or the fickle crowds that turn from peaceful and loving to a pitchfork wielding mob hungry for violence.

Helena is a fantastic character to read.  I really liked her and I must say that I was terrified on her behalf for a good deal of the book!  Equally, Kramer is absolutely unbelievably horrifying, to think that a religious man could be so shockingly brutal, to seemingly take such pleasure in inflicting pain and to be so consumed with hate for all women.  It’s difficult to get your head around to be honest.  Fortunately, not everyone was of the same mind and one of the other characters, Bishop Georg Golser, took many personal risks to champion the accused women.

I highly recommend The Last Witch, I would mention again that this doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the treatment of many women during this period, it is shockingly brutal in its portrayal and might not be for everyone.  Personally, I think it’s a remarkable book.  A dark tale with hints of the supernatural, wonderfully written and with very powerful performances from the central characters.  A book that will stay on my mind for some time.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4.5 of 5 stars