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Incredibly powerful and moving, this fictional look at the Norwegian witchcraft trials on the island of Vardo at the northern most point of Norway is created with a chilling intensity.
It is said that at times there were no families in Finnmark who were not affected by the proceedings, either as prosecutors, witnesses or convicts.When Zigri, desperate and grieving after the loss of her husband and son, embarks on an affair with the local merchant, it’s not long before she is sent to the fortress at Vardo, to be tried and condemned as a witch.
Sølve Nilsdatter confessed during the interrogations in January that, in the Christmas of 1661, a gigantic witches' sabbath had been held at Dovrefjell mountain in southern Norway, where the witches had arrived in the shapes of dogs and cats to drink and dance with Satan, who appeared in the shape of a black dog. Maid Ellen was arrested for being one of them, and confessed that she had used sorcery to affect cattle.
The children, Ingeborg and Maren, are oh-so relatable as they grieve for their lost innocence and fight for a form of justice. Interestingly, on 25 June 1663, the last accused witches, Magdalene from Andersby, Ragnhild Endresdatter and Gertrude Siversdatter, along with her daughter Kirsten Sørensdatter, were brought from the witches-hole. Now resident in Edinburgh, Anya graduated with distinction from the Creative Writing programme at Edinburgh Napier University.
Accompanying her on this quest is Maren – herself the daughter of a witch - whose wild nature and unconquerable spirit gives Ingeborg the courage to venture into the unknown, and to risk all she has to save her family. I had no idea about witch trials going on in Norway at this time, and it was both fascinating and horrifying to learn more about them. It is an empowering tale that leaves me feeling that there is a littlest bit of Witchery in us all, caring, thoughtful, insightful and resourceful. The two adult women had argued, and Sølve had become so drunk that Satan had a hard time getting her on her feet and back to jail later that night.It was a period of numerous trials, including several on children, noting a new ideology in beliefs about witchcraft that saw its traditional victims–children–become advocates of the Devil. Fuelled by a combination of lust for power, religious fanaticism and perverted misogyny, the cruelty and violence of Orning's and Lockhert's efforts to force the women accused of witchcraft to confess would be beyond belief were it not that they are based on historical fact, as the author explains in her fascinating afterword. On the top of Lydhorn mountain Satan's Christmas party was celebrated with dance and drink, after which the witches flew back to Finnmark, except for Kirsti, who had visited Bergen and then took the long way home by sea.
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