Lee's debut novel is an evocative, authentic and bewitching tale of finding courage, strength and kindness despite prejudice. How can young love escape the weight of expectation from family, society & He who claims her? What is the price of altering your destiny & denying your soul? Magnificent!

A classic historical fiction take on witchcraft and the treatment of Cunning Women was well explored.
This fit well in the genre with some lovely language, although slow to start.

Cunning Women is set in a small
Lancashire village after the plague, when women are still commonly accused of being witches, and when magistrates can condemn anyone to death on little more than the word of a spiteful neighbour. Sarah’s household are feared and outcast by the local villagers; they have nothing to protect them from poverty and ruin since her father died, and fall back on herbal medicines and spells to make a desperate living. Daniel, a young and empathetic young farmer, is the first to break through the fug of superstition and discrimination surrounding this ill-understood family, but a blossoming romance is tested to the limit by the prejudices of their surroundings.

I found it hard to get into this book for a long while, but the emotion in it is fairly harrowing and it did get to me eventually. More than anything this story really shines a light on the intolerance and cruelty that women or outsiders of any kind were subjected to in this period, for that I think it’s a brilliant and useful read.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Random House, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

but there’s bad blood between the families as his father blames Mam for the death of his wife during childbirth. Daniel plans to smuggle Sarah into his father’s house as a dairymaid until the time comes when they can be married. But the course of true love never runs smooth and when the farmhand, Gabriel, tells him a few white lies about Sarah as revenge for her cursing him with a temporary skin affliction the plan begins to go awry.
In the village community, there had been a change of magistrates which does not bode well for the Haworths. When Magistrate Thompson finally goes too far with one of the village girls, he is replaced with Magistrate Wright, who soon begins to talk of papists and wants to see witch jars on the threshold of every house. It won’t take long before he turns his attention to the family at the top of the hill. And when 2 of the Haworths protectors die in horrible, tragic circumstances Sarah must make a choice that will change their lives forever.
I liked the atmosphere of this book; the mystery of the cunning women and their knowledge passed down through generations. Mam presents it to Sarah as inescapable, she has no choice and the reader is introduced to the harshness of her life after the death of her husband. A life that she suggested to Sarah if she wants to bring money into the house. Sarah wants more and through Daniel she can provide for her family. But she is well aware that she has the power as when she successfully curses Gabriel. Annie notices the change in her when she becomes a dairymaid and she doesn’t like it.
Sarah was an intriguing character as she sought to escape her destiny and choose a more conventional life. But could she do it for the rest of her life? Would she be able to or would her talents re-appear? It’s an intriguing question as there would, inevitably, come a time when she would be driven to use them again. Annie was another engaging character, a true woodland child, who is waiting for her mark to know that she’s also been chosen. It’s a time of change in the village as the old ways are beginning to be suppressed and the cunning women driven out.
A confident debut novel and I look forward to the author’s next novel.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Seventeenth Century Lancashire Witch Hunt

Sarah lives with her family as outcasts. They are the cunning women, knowledgeable of healing herbs, and branded witches by the outside world. Friendship blossoms for Sarah when she meets farmer's son, Daniel, but the threat of superstition and life-threatening danger looms large in the figure of a zealous new magistrate.

The novel is dual-narrative, alternating between Sarah's and Daniel's points of view. Their voices are not sufficiently distinct.

A solid historical fiction.

A gorgeous historical fiction that felt like i was in a sarah waters novel. Beautiful characters and evocative writing, I couldn’t help but read on.

1620’s Lancashire, county of the earlier, well documented Pendle Witch Trials, and where history may be about to repeat itself. Both Sarah Howarth and her mother, residents of a small fishing community, share a birthmark, marking them out as witches.

Sarah and her family - her mother, sister Annie, and brother John, live on the outskirts of the community, in a run down house, in an abandoned plague hamlet, overlooking the village. Known as ‘cunning women’ (brother John doesn’t seem to have the ‘gift’), he doesn’t have the birthmark for a start), they keep themselves to themselves, and are generally shunned and feared by the villagers, but they do receive visitors under cover of darkness, people who require healing, or spells to bring about long held desires.

Sarah becomes involved with local farmer’s son, Daniel, after watching him tame a horse, and they realise that, for all their differences, they are falling in love.

They begin to dare that they might be able to lead a normal life together, and secretly make plans for that, until a new magistrate arrives in the village, and he doesn’t take kindly to ‘cunning women’ who forsake God!

It was a slow start, and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, apart from Daniel, but I enjoyed it more as it progressed, when tensions were raised with the arrival of the new magistrate, and he began to make his presence felt. He threatens the very survival of Sarah’s family, and those of like minded people too.

Set in 1620 a story of a poor family living on the edge of a god fearing community, it is a time of superstition and people live by it. Daniel falls in love with Sarah, whose mother is the one everyone turns to for potions and charms. She is known as The Haworth Hag and her family are the first to be blamed for any wrong doing at all. Sarah and Daniels romance has to be kept away from the adults. There is u rest in the village due to a new Magistrate, a discoverer of witches and hanger of the Papists too.
This story is rich in detail and history as well as creating and weaving the narratives together so as to turn the tension up constantly. I empathised with Sarah and Daniel in their predicament and was spurring them on throughout. That is the sign of a good storyteller, when you feel you care what happens to the characters.
Great book! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the book.

A bewitching tale of star crossed love.

Lancashire, 1620, Sarah Haworth and her family are outcasts, made poor by the death of their father and living in a hamlet abandoned since the Plague. They are the cunning folk; their only means to survive are to provide potions, tinctures and cures for the villagers behind closed doors. Although the locals are happy to use the cunning folks powers, they blame the Haworths’ for every misfortune that befalls the village, which the new magistrate is keen to use to his advantage.

Can love blossom between Sarah and a young farmer’s son, Daniel against all odds?

For me, this has echoes of Romeo and Juliet, fated lovers on opposing sides. I fell in love with Daniel and Sarah and their fledgling love, filled with hope and promise, despite everything that conspires against them.

Lee does a fantastic job of weaving both the narratives of Sarah and Daniel together, while seamlessly ramping up the tension. The story has a great richness to it, immediately immersing you in a period in history that was filled with fear and superstition.

A stunning debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I requested this book as I live in Pendle Witch Country, and whilst it wasn't quite what I was expecting, I found it to be a good read. It was well written and the characters were well drawn and the story built up to a tense, sad but ultimately satisfactory conclusion. Recommended.

Great characterisation and storytelling. I found this novel hard to warm to at the beginning but found the premise interesting enough to keep reading!

I read *Cunning Women* right after I read *The Manningtree Witches*, and they fit together very well. They are both about early modern women accused of witchcraft by toxic patriarchal communities. I would like to include trigger warnings for sexual assault, murder, and torture and murder of children.

The first half of *Cunning Women* did not hold my attention very well, but the second half was worth the wait. It was a wild rollercoaster.

I've read a few books on this theme recently, but I think this is the best. Totally absorbing, sly, suspenseful and with wonderfully vivid characters.

This was a really good read. We meet Sarah in a Lancashire fishing village in 1620. Like a lot of girls her age, Sarah loves her family and craves acceptance from the people around her, but the Haworths aren’t like the other families in the village. Instead, Sarah’s mother is a “cunning woman” who sells poultices and potions, but also charms and curses, earning them the fear and suspicion you may expect from this period. We also meet Daniel, the local farmer’s son, who is mistreated by his father and misunderstood by most of the people around him. A chance encounter between the him and Sarah leads to a fledgling romance, but can their relationship endure given their circumstances, and the envy and malice of those around them?

This was a fascinating read, and I loved the characterisation of the two star-crossed young lovers and their families. The setting, just years after the plague and at a time of real fear and persecution, was very well drawn and the angst poured off of every page. The relationships between the characters was very true, and I particularly loved Sarah’s fiercely protective bond with her little sister. The pacing was just right and the tension built up beautifully, right to the end. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Cunning Women, from debut author Elizabeth Lee, is an intricate and resonant piece of historical fiction, with sweeping romance, meticulous detail, exceptional female characters and as much to say about the world we live in now as it does 17th century Lancashire.
Written in beautifully atmospheric, descriptive prose, Cunning Women is a story of Sarah's family living in poverty in rural Lancashire in 1620. It is told from two perspectives, Sarah's (in first person) and Daniel's (in third person) in alternate chapters, we are guided through a working community that is upturned when an indiscretion of the local magistrate leads to a change of guard.
Sarah and her family make their meagre living through cunning arts; they mix herbs and tinctures, give charms of protection but neither Sarah no the villagers are entirely sure that is where their powers end. So when Sarah meets Daniel, a young farmer who is set to inherit it seems that they have a difficult path ahead if they choose to pursue their feelings for one another.
With story-telling that is reminiscent of Thomas Hardy and with great similarities to recent hits by Bridget Christie and Kiran Millwood-Hargrave, Cunning Women is a coming of age story, that examines trust, belief, discrimination and female rage and desire all wrapped up in a nuance historical setting. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I received a free arc of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


A story of witchcraft, family, love and fear.
This book is captivating, from the lovely prose to the thrilling story and unusual cast of characters.
I adored Sarah and her devotion to her family. She wants nothing more than to keep them safe and offer them a better life than they have now.
She is a strong heroine, admirable yet relateable. Her bond with Annie was really sweet too. There are some beautiful scenes, scenes that keep you on your toes and ones that will pull at your heartstrings.
While it was a bit of a slow start for me reading this book, it was in the back of my mind when I wasn't reading it. Not sure of chapters/page numbers as I read it on mobile but at around 50% I couldn't stop reading.
Really excited to read more from Elizabeth Lee!

I enjoy historical fiction and was looking forward to this tale of cunning folk, aka witches, in the 1600's.
Sadly I found the book very slow going until it suddenly sped up to a very rushed ending and I struggled to finish it, I don't like leaving a negative review but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

An historical fiction book with a witchy backstory.

Set in Lancashire 8 years after the Pendle witch trials this is a story of a poor family live in an old plague house just outside a village. Rumours of a devil child and curses surround the family and when the new magistrate arrives this brings a new fear to the family.

I really enjoyed the start of this book and then it just got a bit...boring. The ending picked up again but I just wanted more. The writing style was hard to follow at times and it all just became a bit of a fluffy love story.

Don’t get me wrong the ending pulled at my heart strings but it didn’t get the ending I wanted and felt the characters deserved.

If you are a fan of historical fiction then you should give it a try but for me I felt it was lacking something extra.

I received this book from Net Galley in return of an honest review.

Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee is a fantastic book. It strikes the perfect balance of the wise women or cunning folk as they are known as, and the god-fearing villagers. Unlike other books I've read about the Pendle Witch Trials, it's not too gory. Instead it is a forbidden love story with a sad ending, but with hope.

Bound to be a big hit in 2021.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me! I'm not a fan of historical fiction but I thought I'd give this one a go because it's set in Lancashire, near where I'm from, but even that couldn't hold my interest. I sadly had to DNF this one but I think it could work really well for lovers of historical fiction and Pendle witch trial books.