A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

Ursule sleeps with him and then uses a spell to get her husband to sleep with her.

Ursule and her mother, Nanette, uses spells to bring a traveling musician to the village. Ursule begins to believe in the craft when she wants to have a child but cannot conceive.

Ursule marries a villager who helps around the farm, but he eventually turns on her and her mother. The second section of the novel narrates the story of Ursule, who is initially skeptical of the craft but intensely connected to nature and animals. The family moves to Orchard Farm, which overlooks a cliff in Cornwall, England. She names her daughter Ursule after her grandmother. The first section of the novel, The Book of Nanette, tells the story of Ursule's granddaughter Nanette as she discovers her power, combats witch-hunting priests and then has a daughter out of wedlock. She leaves her family with a vision of a farmhouse at the top of a cliff where she says they must move. The matriarch of the family, Ursule Orchiere, uses her considerable power to hide her family. The novel opens in 1821 in France as a group of townspeople are persecuting the Orchieres, who are identified as gypsies and witches. The women's attempts to avoid persecution and to keep the craft alive and secret comprises most of the plot lines in the novel. In the novel, Louisa Morgan delves into the lives of five female members of the Orchiere clan, all of whom have inherited the power of the craft.

Redhook, 2017.Ī Secret History of Witches follows one clan of witches for more than 100 years as they pass down their beliefs and rituals from mother to daughter. The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Morgan, Louisa.

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan