The Last Witchfinder: A Novel (P.S.)
by James Morrow
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Book Summary Information
Author: James MorrowEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-03-13
ISBN: 0060821809
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of The Last Witchfinder: A Novel (P.S.)
Book Review: Thou shall not suffer a Witchfinder to practice his trade
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw the title "The last Witchfinder" a rather fanciful plot ran through my mind- a kind of underground railroad with which kind hearted and enlightened citizens spirited women accused of witch craft to a safe place and out of the reaches of the Witchfinder. It turns out I really couldn't have been more wrong. But that's ok because the real plot is something I never could have imagined-making this book a constant surprise.
It's the end of the 17th century and while the age of enlightenment is at hand people still respond to anything unknown as occult in nature, and therefore must be demonic. Many men and women have been needlessly killed and tortured. And though witch fever isn't as prevalent in this age as it was in past, witchfinders still enjoy a good living.
Jennet Stearne is the daughter of a Witchfinder. But because of all the traveling that he is required to do to find witches and get paid for several months every year Jennet lives with her Aunt Isobel- a natural philosopher who teaches Jennet all of the new learning of the age of enlightenment. But unfortunately the experiments that Isobel performs (on prisms, gravity and even supposed witche's familiars to discover how they corrupted from the innocent animal they once were) cause the huge and cry of witch craft against her. But before she is killed (on the recommendation of the Witchfinder-her brother in law) she charges Jennet with a mission to use philosophy (science was not a term that they appeared to have used in the late 17th century) to prove that there are no witches. She leaves her niece with two clues-Newton's supposedly lost anti-demon proof and the words "fire and water, water and fire."
This task will consume Jennets life for decades. Through her myriad adventures (moving to America, observing the Salem witch trials, being captured by Native Americans and marrying into their tribe, a love affair with Ben Franklin, being castaway on a Caribbean island and even a run in with pirates) she is sometimes distracted from her mission. But that never lasts for long because she is determined to rid the world of Witchfinders-even one who is her own brother.
This is really an excellent book but it's also kind of complicated and a little weird. For one thing Newton's "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" narrates (yes, the book talks) little asides throughout the book. Not only are these very funny it's an excellent way for the author to editorialize on his own work, as well as include information that couldn't easily be worked into the regular part of the novel.
In addition, the processes and theories Jennet uses to construct her anti-witch proof had my head spinning for quite a while. Because of them someone could easily use this book as a philosophy textbook. It took a lot of re-reading (and note taking) of certain parts in order to figure out what she was trying to say. While that was a little frustrating it was definitely worth it to understand the idea because so much of the book is focused on it. I don't think I would have understood it at all if I hadn't taken intro to philosophy (at least not without a lot research) but even if you don't fully grasp the ideas of the book you can still enjoy it.
When I originally tried to read this book I gave up after a couple of pages-it just seemed so complicated with all the philosophy and more than a little scarce in description. Luckily I kept it around and when I picked it up again three days ago I pushed through the first few pages and was completely pulled in to the story and couldn't have torn myself away if I tried. This book is completely absorbing and enthralling filled with drama and the best sarcastic comedy I've ever read.
For all that I really liked reading it; I had a couple of problems with the book. For one thing the author didn't define how the supposed "witches" caused problems until almost the very end of the book. And since I didn't really know what witches were deemed capable of doing, it was hard to grasp how what Jennet was doing would disprove it.
But a much larger issue is the lack of overall detail in the book. For one thing there is very little historical atmosphere-the historical setting always comes in second to the philosophy. In that way this book is more of a novel set in the past then a work of historical fiction. Also time passes extremely quickly in the novel and that means that a lot of opportunities for more description and character development that were missed out on. So much happens in this novel that it could have easily been turned into an epic with more background about the time period and description of Jennet's adventures. But I might be biased in my opinion on this-I liked this book so much that I wanted it to be longer.
Five stars.
Keep in mind that even though it is historical fiction, "The Last Witchfinder" is an extremely intellectual book and serious mental muscles need to be flexed to really understand all the book has to offer. This book is not for everyone, and it's definitely not what you want to pick up when you're looking for a bit of light reading.
And to my fellow Wiccans out there: if you're looking for a book on the "burning times" this is not for you. This is a philosophical exploration about how to explain the unexplainable. There is no mystic element. If you want something like that you need to look in fantasy-not historical fiction-because as a point of fact, by the time that people started being burned for witchcraft, all pagan religions had been pretty much stamped out.
Summary of The Last Witchfinder: A Novel (P.S.)
Jennet Stearne's father hangs witches for a living in Restoration England. But when she witnesses the unjust and horrifying execution of her beloved aunt Isobel, the precocious child decides to make it her life's mission to bring down the Parliamentary Witchcraft Act. Armed with little save the power of reason, and determined to see justice prevail, Jennet hurls herself into a series of picaresque adventures?traveling from King William's Britain to the fledgling American Colonies to an uncharted island in the Caribbean, braving West Indies pirates, Algonquin Indian captors, the machinations of the Salem Witch Court, and the sensuous love of a young Ben Franklin. For Jennet cannot and must not rest until she has put the last witchfinder out of business.
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