Member Reviews

I found the stories super interesting and especially when it got to the witchcraft books, the stories were ones I have just read retellings of in novels. (The last witch of Scotland and the familiars). I did think that the chapters went on a long time and the stories could have been edited down a bit. I also think that all Elizabeth’s from the 1500s were evil after reading this book.
Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

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This was a fantastic read that I adored way more than I expected. I knew I would enjoy it as I love true crime but I didn't expect it to be as good as it was and I am still thinking about it now. Loved the writing and the format of the book and how the information was put across. Amazing, PLEASE READ

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Thank you to Blessin Adams, William Collins, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this! Essentially written as 8 short stories with an intro and conclusion, Thou Savage Woman covers a wide range of motives and cases concerning female murderers in early modern England. Some of the stories are heartbreaking. I found myself comparing the motives of today’s female murderers with the early modern ones, and came to the same conclusion as the author, especially reading the ‘Do or Die’ chapter. In some respects, almost no progress has been made in the legal system. I will definitely read the author’s backlist.

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4⭐️

If you love true crime and early modern British history then this is the book for you.

Blessings Adams covers topics such as witchcraft to poisoning to physical violence. Some of it is pretty gruesome (SA / rape / violence) so it might be triggering for some.

Even though this book is about early modern Britain, I kept thinking of the similarities to this day and age, which Adams also mentions towards the end. Esp. the obsession with true crime and the general shock when murderers are women, rather than men. I also found it extremely interesting that people paid close attention to the behaviour of women when faced with tragedy. If they don‘t react as suspected everyone‘s automatically suspicious. Nothing much has changed since then (think the Amanda Knox case).

Adams wrote about some extremely nasty individuals, but also about some women who were unjustly executed (where the „evidence“ was a rumour). I was glad to see that she showed both.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Collins for providing me with a digital review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

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This is a brilliant collection of crimes and events of the early modern period pertaining to the suspected crimes of women. Adams’ intellectually threads the social and economical state of women’s affairs and expectations from the period she is covering and exposes the breadth of time between the hundreds of years still see similar patterns to modern day crime. Truly horrifying read in terms of the crimes discussed as well as the political landscape of female killers in past and present.

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I really enjoyed this true crime historical book about women convicted criminals from early modern Britain.

Some of the women were complete rotters and heartless killers, but others were unfortunately accused of the impossible crime of witchcraft because they were social misfits. The exploration of women's crime in its historical context was very interesting, learning about attitudes of the period and how that played into punishment. The difference between the punishment for men and women was enlightening - for example a man convicted of killing his wife would be a murderer sentenced to be hanged, whereas a woman convicted of killing her husband would be a "petty traitor" sentenced to be burnt at the stake.

A recommended read for lovers of history, especially listeners to Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers podcast.

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I often wonder why true crime and murder in particular is a subject I find fascianting, but when books such as this which is so well written tellling the stories of murderers, I do find it hard not to read.

The authir has given the reader a insightful and factual book of several killers, their crimes, their reasons for commiting the crime and a look into the court system.

Highly recommended

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Having previously read Blessin Adams’ first book I had high hopes going into this one, and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. I really enjoyed how each chapter was about a different person, and you saw both the events leading up to their arrest, their trial, and then the punishment. It came across as very well researched, yet it wasn’t delivered in a dry manner. I’d thoroughly recommend

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