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A Witchy Review

 

A historical record of witchcraft and it's survival over the centuries!

Louisa Morgan's, A Secret History of Witches, is a five-part novel circled around the

Orchiére female line--mothers and daughters who partake in the craft.

The novel begins in 1821, where the matriarch of the Orchiére line seals her familial line's fate

by using her powers in order to ensure their survival against those who persecuted their kind. 

A vision emerges for her family to travel to a farm at a new location and begin anew, putting

aside what  they've come to know in order to survive in a world where standing out means

burning at the stake.

The story line travels through five different generations of Orchiére women, mothers passed

knowledge down to their daughters, in some ways more constructive than others. The

relationships between both mothers and daughters were interesting to read due to the fact that

the typical relationship between a mother and daughter could be strained. However, adding a

historical obligation to witchcraft throws an entirely different riff into the mix.

An ancient scrying crystal accompanied by a family grimoire is essential to the women's line

and are crucial elements in order for their line to continue. Learning the process and faith put

into these two devices is another strain on the mother and daughter relationship that is

depicted throughout the five sections of the novel.

Morgan has a fluid writing style, paying particular attention to the details of each setting in

every chapter. As the story takes place over 200 years, between 5 generations of the Orchiére

line, Morgan does a fantastic job in relaying the changes between settings, time periods, and

lifestyles for readers. Romance is imminent within the novel, for most parts anyway,

as adding to the line means procreating for the women. Despite trust being an influential

factor in relationships, trust is something slim for Orchiére women when men come into play.

Secrets and discreet actions are vital for the Orchiére women to survive, as some tragedies

were implemented due to women deciding that love just might be enough. Although in true

form, judgement wreaks havoc on those who think love will conquer all.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in witchcraft or historical fiction. For those who

like to travel down the rabbit-hole of witchcraft's survival, I'd start with this novel and make

your way to Morgan's second novel, The Witch's Kind, and even her third novel

published this year, The Age of Witches.

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