About this item
Highlights
- In the seventeenth century, witchfinders rule and paranoia thrives in a chilling novel about unrequited love, persecution, and betrayal by the bestselling author of The Road Beyond Ruin and Broken Angels.In 1625, the Franconian village of Eisbach has been plagued by disease, famine, heinous crimes, and a merciless winter.
- Author(s): Gemma Liviero
- 331 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Historical
Description
Book Synopsis
In the seventeenth century, witchfinders rule and paranoia thrives in a chilling novel about unrequited love, persecution, and betrayal by the bestselling author of The Road Beyond Ruin and Broken Angels.
In 1625, the Franconian village of Eisbach has been plagued by disease, famine, heinous crimes, and a merciless winter. Katarin Jaspers is the maidservant to the enigmatic Reverend Zacharias Engel, appointed by Rome to cure the village of suspected diabolism and save every God-fearing soul.
Zacharias soon finds his first witch, and the public burning of a local man could spell the end of misfortune. As a sense of peace settles over the village, Katarin finds herself increasingly infatuated with Zacharias, who is a disruption to her predictable existence and a balm for her cruel past. But peace for Katarin is short-lived. Margaretha Katz--the new midwife--is seen as a rival for the reverend's attention. Fear and recrimination reach a fever pitch when a great tragedy sets the town fully on edge.
With the walls of winter closing in around Eisbach once again, rumours flourish and villagers turn on each other. Now, no one is safe from the pyre.
Review Quotes
"Liviero brilliantly creates an atmosphere of fear, suspicion, and helplessness for villagers locked in an icy landscape...with characters, both malicious and blameless, [that] keep the pages turning to an unforgettable ending. This book will disquiet and unsettle you in the best way, as only a deft writer can." --Historical Novels Review (Editors' Choice)