【 THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES 】

Genre: Fantasy (witches)
Audience: New Adult
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Published: October 2020
Publisher: Redhook
Pages: 544 (paperback)

This is a hard book to describe in detail – it’s sat with me for some time since I finished it, and I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. But to put my finger on what exactly made this so good, is difficult. The book has a quiet, complex atmosphere – it’s a sophisticated novel of family ties, the plight of women and the scandalousness of witchcraft.

I really enjoyed the relationship between the three sisters. They are the crux of the plot and their strained relationship drives the momentum of the story forward. Their differences are stark and yet they seem to have such a solid and unbreakable tie between them – whether they want it or not.

The way that witchcraft is depicted in this book was really unique, I thought. It’s not just spells and aptitude, but in fact down to methods, materials and the sheer will to believe the magic into existence – and anyone can do it. And I loved the way that this type of magic complemented the themes of fraternity throughout the story – something that was predominantly female-lead, but actually welcomed and encompassed male characters who allied themselves with the struggles the women faced.

In that sense, there’s a wonderfully, tastefully done tone of politics threaded through the whole story. One could argue that women’s rights and safety is forefront and centre, but somehow (despite it absolutely being so) it feels like a background effect rather than something shoved down your throat.

And it’s that subtlety and light-handedness with which Harrow has approach the serious themes in this book that make it so hard for me to articulate why it’s so good. Because while all these important things are there, it’s also just a damn good story of the underdogs rising up. With the added bonus of mischievousness and magic.

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Title: The Once and Future Witches
Author: Alix E. Harrow
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In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in Alix E. Harrow’s powerful novel of magic and the suffragette movement.

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR Books • Barnes and Noble • BookPage

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters―James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna―join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote―and perhaps not even to live―the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

An homage to the indomitable power and persistence of women, The Once and Future Witches reimagines stories of revolution, motherhood, and women’s suffrage—the lost ways are calling.