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Today, "The witches' lullaby" by Hester Fox published on January 11, 2023 by Éditions Faubourg Marigny.
Cécile "SeriaLectrice", bookstagramer and contributor to the 20 Minutes Books reading group, recommends "La lullaby of witches" by Hester Fox, published on January 11, 2023 by Éditions Faubourg Marigny.
His favorite quote:
Do you know what loneliness is?
True loneliness, even in the heart of the crowd?
Within a family?
Perhaps if my mother had been a witch, like me, endowed with her own powers, she would have taken me under her wing to guide me on this singular journey.
Alas, this was not the case and I had to discover my difference by myself, on a path strewn with pitfalls.
Why this book?
Because this novel takes us to the middle of the 19th century, to Salem
, known for its witch trials.
There we meet Margaret, a young healer endowed with mystical powers and quickly considered a witch.
The lawsuits are far away, so it is not a question of having her burned at the stake.
But the treatments aren't much better.
Excluded and marginalized from society, Margaret finds herself rejected by everyone, even her family.
The man she loves, too, abandons her little by little.
Because this novel is based on a double temporality.
With Margaret in the 1850s on one side and Augusta on the other today.
The reader follows the story of Augusta, collections manager at Harlowe House, Margaret's family home.
While doing her research, she discovers the existence of the young girl for whom the museum has no documents.
Little by little, Augusta is seized with visions and delves into Margaret's past to discover what could have happened to her.
Because the author's pen is lively, rhythmic and addictive.
The sketched characters, Margaret in particular, do not leave us indifferent.
Her marginalization seems so unfair to us because even if she has strange powers, she only uses them to help her neighbor.
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
Augusta has just obtained a position at Harlowe House, the historic home of a wealthy family.
While doing research, Augusta is taken with visions of the past.
Visions of a young woman, Margaret.
These become more and more powerful until she understands who Margaret is.
Characters.
Augusta, collections manager, thirties, nowadays.
Margaret, a young healer endowed with mystical powers, in the middle of the 19th century.
Places.
Harlowe House, near the city of Salem, USA.
The time.
It is a novel based on a double temporality between 1850 and 2020.
The author.
Hester Fox is a writer with a background in archaeology.
After writing
The Witch of Willow Hall
(not translated into French), The Witches Lullaby is her second novel.
This book was read with
fascination.
Margaret's story, the injustice she experiences, her marginalization really marked me.
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