Killing the Witch by
Judith Cook
pbk out February 00
(Headline)
at £5.99
On a visit to Pinner, to see an old friend, Dr Forman and his colleague come across a group of young Morris dancers attacking an old woman who they say is a witch. Dr. Forman and his friend see them off, and help the old woman home.
Following this they are attending a wedding when a man's body is found. He has been attacked by robbers. The wedding itself seems to go well, but the bride's former lover turns up, and is heard to say that no good will come of it. his words are prophetic. Not long after the wedding, a mysterious young man turns up, and the bride is left alone by her new husband who neglects her for his friend. To make it up to her, the young man suggests a visit to London, ostensibly to see the plays. But tragedy strikes not far from home. The youjg man is found wounded, his wife dead, and his mysterious friend has disappeared.
Dr. Forman is intrigued. No robbers are found, and those responsible for the previous robbers were arrested far away from the crime before it was committed. Nothing is what it seems.
During all this, the old woman is accused of witchcraft, and, though Dr. Forman and his friend try to reason with the poplace feelings are running high, particularly after a young woman is attacked, and the attacker says he was bewitched.
The author has written a fascinating story of life in the late 16c, and the gullibility of people, and how they can be manipulated into believing the incredible is all too believable. The hounding of the old woman, and the tragic events which take place can only too easily be translated into the modern era: Hitler's Final solution, the White Suprmacists in the U.S.A. in the 1960's, attacks on asians and blacks in today's Britain all began with the same premise: it must be an outsider's fault for all our woes. A chilling story and well worth reading. Recommended.
Killing the Witch by
Judith Cook