Robert Neill (1) (1905–1979)

Published in 1951, this is an old school historical novel which educates the reader in various aspects of early C17th century life. It is also a light romance. I should emphasise that it covers the period up to the arrests of the 'witches' (so does not cover the trials) and follows a realistic portrayal, not a supernatural one.

Margery is a young woman brought up in a Puritan family who is a disappointment to her stern older siblings. They find her too intelligent, fun loving and subtly insolent. Wishing to obtain a dowry for her and marry her off, they have the idea of sending her north to cousin Roger, a Justice of the Peace and wealthy enough to provide one.

Luckily for Margery, Roger has the same wry sense of humour and doesn't expect a woman to be seen and not heard. A bond grows between them, with him almost a surrogate for her deceased father, and she flourishes in her new abode. Not only does he provide the means for her to have some very nice gowns made, he encourages her to ride around the area and to act as his clerk when hearing legal cases. He appreciates her intelligence and is altogether the antithesis of her unpleasant family.

Margery hasn't been in the Pendle district long when a man dies, supposedly through the ill-will of Old Demdike and her granddaughter Alizon, reputed witches. So, too, is Elizabeth Device, Alizon's mother and Demdike's daughter. Margery learns that they and another family, the Redferns, are suspected of causing the deaths of a number of local residents. Despite pressure from various characters, Roger resists committing them for trial to Lancaster Assizes for lack of proof. And more seriously, it seems that the respectable but ruthless social climber, Alice Nutter, may have more than a little to do with their activities.

I have read history books which cover the Pendle/Lancashire witch trials, and some of the characters in the novel are based on real people. The development of Alice Nutter is an interesting take on what is otherwise a mystery: namely, why a respectable woman from another part of the district should be present at the notorious Good Friday gathering at Malkin Tower, home of the Devices. I take with the proverbial pinch of salt the assumption of guilt and calculated malice of the 'witches', ascribing more to the modern notion that, living in dire poverty at the bottom of the social ladder, if the women did fancy themselves witches - it seems Alizon really did believe she caused the peddler to have a stroke - it was a compensatory fantasy.

Given the time this was written, in the world of the novel they are truly malicious. Little sister Jennet is an astute and cute child, not a sociopath for testifying against her whole family and helping to send them to the gallows. And the practical effects of witchcraft are achieved through herbal medicine (poisons). But I was willing to set aside what I've read in history books, so that didn't detract from my enjoyment.

The author obviously took some pains to get historical details right, including the fact that, in England, witches were hung and not burned. There's a lot about C17th life, including the persecution of Catholics, the clothing, the social classes, rural poverty, what people ate, and a deal more, plus scene setting in the fairly wild area, and the weather which almost forms a character in its own right.

I liked Margery and Roger though the forehead crinkling got a bit overdone, but found most of the other characters very slightly drawn especially love interest Frank. The ending was so weak it almost made me think that a chapter was missing from the grubby, tatty second-hand copy I was reading. On balance, I rate this as a 3 star read.… (mer)

Mist Over Pendle was nothing like I had imagined it to be, and was probably all the better for it.

The story is set in 1611-12, against a background of the events leading up to the famous Pendle Witch Trials; using what was known of the trials, from Thomas Potts' contemporary account in The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches, and of social mores at the time, Robert Neill presents a fictional imagining of the events leading up to the final committal for trial. A book centring on witchcraft was, I assumed, going to be quite dark, a little gothic maybe; but if an interest in witchcraft and the occult is what brings you to this book, you may be disappointed. Because what Neill has done s produce a light, and highly readable, impression of how much of the concern over witchcraft was born out of hysteria and lack of knowledge.

Margery Whittaker, a lively, intelligent young girl brought up in, but longing to rebel from, a stern Puritan household, becomes a concern to her elder brothers and sisters when their mother dies. Anxious for Margery to be away from potential trouble and distractions, they decide to send her to a distant cousin, one of the landed gentry with an estate near in Pendle, and a Justice of the Peace, by the name of Roger Nowell. Luckily for Margery, it turns out that she was cut from the same cloth as her cousin, and a strong bond builds between the two.

While able to write, Roger is not a wordsmith, so Margery takes up the quill and acts as clerk at the weekly magistrate hearings. Through this, and her increasing familiarity with the people living in the area, she becomes aware of the undercurrent of concern over witchcraft.

Rather than having his characters immediately assume witchcraft, author Neill demonstrates that witchcraft could be, and was blamed, for deaths that may have been chance or likely to happen anyway; and that some of what was considered witchcraft was more down to good knowledge and application of the properties of plants. The "witches" are committed for trial, and witchcraft is really only cited by Roger Nowell, when it becomes clear that a lady of means is using the coven to do her bidding.

In Margery, Neill has created a wonderful, lively, intelligent central character; the sardonic cousin Roger is also beautifully drawn, as is the relationship between the two cousins.

The book is a gentle read, and at times it does feel that things are moving a little slowly, but on the whole I found it and excellent read, full of evocative images of the landscape and weather.… (mer)