The Merrybegot
1.A child conceived on Beltane morning (May 1st)
2.A sacred being; nature's own (west country, England)
She promised me I would not have to behave like this for much longer.
In a day or two we would stage our recovery. Wake up all smiles and do our tiresome chores, like good obedient girls. It did not happen like that. It went too far. We went too far.
Spring 1645: In a remote West Country village, all is not as it seems. There are rebel soldiers up in the hills, piskies tittering in ditches and a new minister challenging the old ways. When the minister's daughters take to their bed, howling and spitting pins, rumours of bad magic and
ill-wishing spread fast - and fingers point at Nell, the cunning woman's granddaughter.
With Matthew Hopkins, the Witch Finder General, on his way, Nell finds herself alone, trapped and in mortal danger.
Summer 1692: Patience Madden, the minister's younger daughter, has a confession to make; one that shows another side to what happened to her sister, Grace, and the cunning woman's granddaughter, half a century before. But why is her story full of sudden gaps and errors? Is her memory failing her? Or does she know exactly what she’s doing?
Reviews
‘Hearn has the skill of a conjurer and her novel casts a spell.’
SUNDAY TIMES
‘Once again I am in awe of Julie Hearn's writing.’
CLARE GAMBELL, OTTAKAR'S
‘Hearn writes with great brio and style. Her characters - human, supernatural and animal - all spring off the page.’
GUARDIAN
‘The Merrybegot combines magic realism and historical fact in a formula that Julie Hearn has made her own.'
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘This book leapt out at me. It startled me and then held my attention [...]
I learned about Merrybegots and frolicking on a warm night in May;
I remembered Cider with Rosie and Hardy's Tess and all the literature
of love and loss that awaits those who have enjoyed this book. I also learned about England during the Civil War, but more importantly
the author trusted me as a reader. Together we examined the nature
of sexual and religious desire; of jealousy and envy; of bravery
and cowardice. This is a fine book and I accepted its piskies and its miraculous reversal of death with delight. They fitted into the story
as the acorn fits into its cup.’
TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
‘Spiced with saucy idioms, the novel blends the spirit of two A-level classics, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Crucible.’
OBSERVER
‘Bewitches and beguiles from first to last.’
CELIA REES
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