Solstice by Helen Steadman

 Solstice

 by Helen Steadman

Solstice by Helen Steadman 

was published on 18th September 2023 by Bell Jar Books.

My thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review and to

 Random Books Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

England, 1673. Still a world of witches, witch trials and witchfinders.

When a new vicar arrives to take over the parish of Mutton Clog, the village finds itself in the grip of puritan fever, and suspicious eyes are turned on Rose Driver.

Rose’s mother, brother and grandmother were all put to death by the fanatical witchfinder, John Sharpe.

Almost quarter of a century after the Newcastle witch trials, Sharpe is no longer a threat. Rose should be safe in her quiet village, but is history about to repeat itself?

Find out in Solstice, the powerful conclusion to The Widdershins Trilogy.

Inspired by real witch trials, Solstice tells the story of one woman’s struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world.

The Widdershins Trilogy was inspired by the little-known Newcastle witch trials, where fifteen women and one man were hanged for witchcraft on a single day in August 1650.

My Review

Solstice is the third book in The Widdershins Trilogy and it brings it to a powerful end. I have to be honest it made for hard reading for me , mainly because I have always struggled with how women who were suspected of witchcraft were treated. A lot of this is because, as usual, Helen's incredibly descriptive writing creates so much emotion in what you are reading and how you build up your knowledge and understanding of each of the characters. I have not felt such loathing towards a character such as Patience for a long , long time and I wanted to wrap Rose up and shield her from this horrendous woman. The tragedy is that wrongs like this can never be righted  and all the way back in history so many women were wrongly treated for their knowledge and use of herbs and flowers to heal the sick and infirm.

Helen writes this story brilliantly and it will stay with you for a long time, the sign of an accomplished author.

About the Author

Helen Steadman's first novel, Widdershins and its sequel, Sunwise were inspired by the 1650 Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf is about a group of master sword makers who defected from Germany to England in 1687. Helen's fourth novel, God of Fire, is a Greek myth retelling as seen through the eyes of Hephaestus, perhaps the least well known of all the Olympians. Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries.The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who left Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword.