Jill Dawson’s novels are often set in the Fens, often based on true stories and often written with a clear feminist purpose. And yet, they’re also astonishingly varied. Her last book, The Language of Birds, for example, turned the nanny murdered by Lord Lucan in 1974 from a historical footnote into a warm and vivid human being (from the Fens). Now,… Continue reading…
‘The Bewitching – Based on an actual witchcraft trial in an English village in the 16th century, this finely crafted novel explores the contagiousness of malicious rumours. Poor, stroppy, beer-tippling Alice, demonised for being outspoken, is a timeless female archetype, rendered with great skill by Dawson. There is a grim inevitability about her fate, as… Continue reading…
‘Alice Samuel is an old, occasionally cantankerous woman who looks uncomfortably witch-like. A new squire, Robert Throckmorton, has come to reside in her Fenland village with his brood of children, including the oddball Johanne and Jane, who suffers from fits. When Alice calls on the family, Jane is overcome, and the old woman is soon… Continue reading…
‘Set in the richly atmospheric surrounds of the author’s fenland home, the acclaimed Dawson’s historical latest draws on actual events to close the distance between the witch hunts of 16th century and our own era of conspiracy theories, flagrant abuses of power, and MeToo. Our narrator is thirty-something Martha, loyal and long-term servant of the… Continue reading…
…now available from Sceptre. ‘Timely, devastating and superbly realised’ – Daily Mail ‘The narrative’s progress towards the terrifying evening in the dark basement kitchen has the ineluctable pull of tragic myth. We know what must come, but this knowledge never detracts from the memorable beauty and intelligence of the novel. By focusing on the victim,… Continue reading…
‘Sandra Rivett’s history has long been dismantled and dismissed by a press in thrall to the flashy Lucan lifestyle. Dawson’s insistence that she take prominence with this novel goes some way to achieving a balance, even as the aristocratic carelessness and coldness at the heart of the book prevails.’ – Catherine Taylor, Financial Times. Read… Continue reading…
‘In her highly engrossing new novel, Dawson gives powerful voice to someone silenced in history – the murdered nanny at the heart of the notorious case of Lord Lucan, who disappeared on the night of the murder.’ – iNews. Read the full review here. Continue reading…
‘The narrative’s progress towards the terrifying evening in the dark basement kitchen has the ineluctable pull of tragic myth. We know what must come, but this knowledge never detracts from the memorable beauty and intelligence of the novel. By focusing on the victim, Dawson allows us to completely rethink the original story in a way… Continue reading…
‘All in all, this beautifully written novel achieves its aim: it gives the victim back her voice.’ Read the full review here. Continue reading…
**** ‘Lady Morven and Mandy are superbly drawn characters…this is a sensitive and often beautifully written novel…Dawson’s greatest achievement is to breathe life into Sandra, emphasising that she would deserve our attention even if she had not met such a tragic end.’ Continue reading…