The Witchfinder's Sister

What teen isn't fascinated by tales of witch trials? They're like Halloween horror stories, encompassing elements of the spiritual and unexplained and capturing a time when religion and magic existed side by side, albeit uneasily. They're a welcome diversion from dry history lessons but far removed from today's world. Or are they? Loosely based on the sparse historical accounts of witch hunter Matthew Hopkins and bolstered by excerpts from historical records and materials, this is a disturbingly realistic account of two years in rural England that would be repeated soon after in Salem, MA. Told from the viewpoint of Hopkins's fictitious widowed sister, Alice, the novel highlights the victimization and powerlessness of women caught up in the frenzy of witch hunts. Teens may find it hard to understand Alice's lack of gumption at first, but it becomes evident that any deviation from the expected subservient role could mark a woman as an instrument of the devil. Underdown explores the psychology behind this dark time in our history, cleverly revealing how history can, and does, repeat itself. Readers will draw parallels between the narrative and the present-day persecution of women.