The Witches of Vardo: THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER: 'Powerful, deeply moving' - Sunday Times

Product Information

Norway, 1662. This is a dangerous time to be a woman, especially one who steps outside the prescribed roles of wife and mother. Even dancing can lead to lurid accusations of witchcraft. The switch between the chapters between Ingeborg and Anna gave an interesting different perspective to the story - both their history and life within the fortress.

Manilla Press, the literary imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired The Witches of Vardø by Anya Bergman in a two-book deal. Margaret Stead, publisher, acquired world English language and translation rights from Marianne Gunn O’Connor at the MGOC Agency.

If you loved The Merciesby Kiran Millwood Hargrave, which was based in the times of an earlier Vardo witch trial, then The Witches of Vardowill be the perfect book to put to the top of your to be read pile. I’d like to thank NetGalley and Zaffre UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. This was one of my highly anticipated read of 2023 and it did not disappoint. The first is the doctrine of demonology. Begun around the 1620s by a Scottish governor, demonology spread throughout Europe. Its influence in Vardo is best seen in the story of a learned couple from the south of Norway, Ambrosius Rhodius and Anne Friedrichsdatter Rhodius, who were imprisoned at Vardohus in 1662. Ambrosius was an astrologer and physician (the two believing to be complementary sciences), but he was considered politically dangerous because he predicted the result of an ongoing war (we’re guessing it wasn’t favorable). Anne was known for being outspoken, and got into a disagreement with the governor. Also captive in the fortress is Anna Rhodius, once the King of Denmark's mistress, who has been sent in disgrace to the island of Vardø. What will she do - and who will she betray - to return to her privileged life at court? Norway, 1662. When recently widowed Zigri embarks on a doomed affair with the local merchant, she is inevitably sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried and condemned as a witch.

Guttormsen, Torgrim Sneve; Swensen, Grete (2016-12-05). Heritage, Democracy and the Public: Nordic Approaches. Routledge. ISBN 9781317122319. I felt for these women, how cruel the men could be and the atrocities these women were subject to. A wonderfully crafted and atmospheric debut, loved it! Norway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. After recently widowed Zigri’s affair with the local merchant is discovered, she is sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried as a witch. Wow what a debut. Beautiful, emotional, haunting, powerful. This is as finely crafted a debut as I've had the pleasure to read in quite some time. The prose is immaculate, the pacing is perfectly balanced, and the characters are allowed time to breathe, to grow, to become the truest version of themselves. Nothing here is rushed, and it makes it all the more impactful for it.

When Mari flew with Kirsti through the air south towards the sabbath of Satan she saw many people she knew doing the same, mostly women but also two men; they came from Kiberg, Vardø, Ekkerøy, Vadsø and other communities along the Varangerfjorden, transformed into cats, dogs, sea monsters and birds so they would not be recognized. The Vardø witch trials ( Heksejakten i Vardø), which took place in Vardø in Finnmark in Northern Norway in 1621, was the first major witch trial of Northern Norway and one of the biggest witch trials in Scandinavia. [1] It was the first of the three big mass trials of Northern Norway, followed by the Vardø witch trials (1651–1653) and the Vardø witch trials (1662-1663), and one of the biggest witch trials in Norway. John (2014). "Cultural Difference and Development in the Mirror of Witchcraft - The Cultural Policy of Display at Steilneset Memorial". Nordisk Kulturpolitisk Tidsskrift (in Norwegian). 17 (2): 187–209. doi: 10.18261/ISSN2000-8325-2014-02-03. ISSN 2000-8325. My favourite character is Maren, who appears to be a witch, as she conjures up a storm to put out the fires that are about to burn the convicted witches, and she also appears to have power over animals, producing a plague of rats in the courtroom at the end of the trial. She is bold and fearless, and there is a strong suggestion that she pretends to be a witch to frighten the accusers, rather than actually being a witch – the reader is left to make their mind up on this one! There are no witches in our village, Ingeborg, but the Devil does exist. Look into the eyes of our accusers and you will see him there.’

Sölve Nilsdotter, Margrette Jonsdotter, and two more women were burned to death in Vardø on 20 March 1663. LoveReading exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. The Witches of Vardo is inspired by the very real and terrible events of witch hunts which took place on the island of Vardo between 1662 and 1663. A total of twenty women died as a result of witchcraft persecutions between October 1662 and April 1663. Eighteen were burnt at the stake and two were tortured to death. I devoured this book. Witches, women accused of witchcraft and the belief system mixed with rumours that can destroy a community. All things which are fascinating to read about. Norway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. When recently widowed Zigri embarks on a doomed affair with the local merchant, she is inevitably sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried and condemned as a witch.Beyond these beliefs, historical events were at work that spurred the panics on. In 1617, Norway suffered a particularly violent storm on Christmas Eve. What should have been a happy time was marred by tragedy — of the 23 boats out to sea when the storm hit, a total of 10 boats and 40 men never returned. At the time, Vardo and neighboring Kiberg only had 150 residents each — so to lose 40 of the 300, all of whom were men or young boys, was a significant blow to the region. The villagers wanted a reason for the storm and the deaths. Two women, Mari Jøgensdatter and Kirsti Sørensdatter, were tried as witches responsible for the weather. Mari confessed, and other witches were tried. Mari was convicted and burned at the stake in January of 1621, marking the first death in the Vardo Witch Hunt of 1621. Within six months, 11 more women were convicted and burned. Ingeborg sets off to Vardo on a quest to rescue her mother accompanied by wild natured and outspoken Maren (daughter of an accused witch) and friend Zare. As the author says this book is one to give voice to the thousands of innocents murdered by the fearful, hateful and petty that manipulated the minds of the superstitious and aggrieved, and to make them echo into the present and future, forever living in the hearts of the people like them.

Brilliant and powerful. Haunting and beautifully written. A complex and gripping novel reclaiming and retelling the stories of the women accused of witchcraft in Norway. Hugely atmospheric. Read it!’ For many people today, tales of witches and sorcery are a popular form of entertainment. It’s easy to forget that only a few hundred years ago, such activities were a dark part of reality. The Steilneset memorial in Vardø, NorwayThe brilliant writing weaves a brutal, heart aching yet moving story with resilience, love and kindness triumphing over cruelty at the heart of it. This isn’t one to take lightly and I found it really difficult to read at times, not because of the quality of the writing but because of the brutality faced by the women accused. There is beautiful imagery and connection between the characters but the strength of the writing A lead title for Manilla Press publishing in January 2023, The Witches of Vardø is set in Vardø on the Varanger Peninsula in Norway during the witch trials of the seventeenth century and is based on true events. My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Manilla Press for an eARC and to Bonnier Books U.K. Audio for a review copy of the unabridged audiobook edition, both via NetGalley, of ‘The Witches of Vardø’ by Anya Bergman. The audiobook is narrated by Sofia Engstrand. Many of the women told the court that they had been celebrating, dancing and drinking with the Devil. This was said to have taken place at Domen, a small mountain between the fishing villagesKibergandVardø. I particularly liked this book as it is based on historical events and, as many books do, it highlights the terrible inequalities and dreadful misogyny that have far too frequently been part of world history, and indeed currently still exist.