1620s Lancashire.
And a torch in his hand.
Cunning Women is the powerful reckoning of a young woman with her wildness, a heartbreaking tale of young love and a shattering story of the intolerance that reigned during the long shadow of the Pendle Witch Trials, when those who did not conform found persecution at every door..
But can something as fragile as love blossom between these two in such a place as this?When a new magistrate arrives to investigate the strange ends that keep befalling the villagers, he has his eye on one family alone.
And when Daniel sees Sarah he does not just see a strange, dirty thing, he sees her for who she really is: a strong creature about to come into her own.
They can keep secrets too, because no one would believe them anyway.
When Sarah spies a young man taming a wild horse, she risks being caught to watch him calm the animal.
They are Cunning folk: the villagers will always need them, quick with a healing balm or more, should the need arise.
Young Sarah Haworth, her mother, brother and little sister Annie are a family of outcasts by day and the recipients of visitors by night.
Away from the village lies a small hamlet, abandoned since the Plague, where only one family dwells amongst its ruins. 1620s Lancashire
