A Warlock in Whitby

The Whitby Witches #2

by Robin Jarvis

This series relates the adventures of two orphans, Jennet and Ben. Living in the town of Whitby, they become embroiled in the lives of the fisherfolk - strange creatures whose existence is under threat from deadly enemies.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Horror, Witches, Magic

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Robin Jarvis (born May 8, 1963) is a British children's novelist, who writes fantasy novels, often about anthropomorphic rodents and small mammals—especially mice—and Tudor times. A lot of his works are based in London, in and around Deptford and Greenwich where he used to live, or in Whitby.

His first novel—The Dark Portal, featuring the popular Deptford Mice—was the runner up for the Smarties book prize in 1989.

Reviews

[A.D.T.]

Not as downright captivating as the first, however there are many moments that frightened the life out of me. Nathaniel is a brilliant new villain, and the end result is a very worthwhile and exciting adventure.

[Tom]

It is interesting to re-read this series as an adult as there is clearly a big Lovecraft influence at work here, something I would not have realised when reading as a child.

[Kate Jane]

4

"The girl left the room and the fish demon toddled fiendishly behind her"

Straight into the second of the Whitby Trilogy having finished the first so not to lose momentum.

As with the first one (The Whitby Witches), this was a book I enjoyed very much as a child and reading it again as an adult did not disappoint.

The story starts very soon after the events of the first book and takes the reader back to 1990s Whitby, and the orphans (one of whom has 'The Sight') and their elderly witch guardian.

I found the book to be well-paced, albeit with some surprising twists that I had forgotten over the years, and liked very much the introduction of a new baddie, with new and improved powers. Whitby, once again, provides the exact eerie Gothic backdrop needed to support the plot, and truly is a main character as other reviews suggest.

Once again, despite having read this book when I was about 10 and not being able to detect any residual trauma from this, I think that it would be deemed fairly age inappropriate for the target demographic now. The book opens with graphic depictions of cats being chomped by a horrible land-dwelling fish demon, and repeats the fairly descriptive levels of violence and death seen in the first book.

One part of the plot that did not sit well with me in this novel, is Nelda, an 80 year old Aufwader, being forced to marry the (very elderly) head of the tribe against her will. While any depiction of forced marriage such as this is disturbing enough, it is made more chilling by the fact that the canon in the novels is that an 80 year old Aufwader is very much still a child (probably 8 - 12 years old), and her new husband is so likely in his 80s or 90s. Were you to think that was not bad enough . . . she has to have sex with him to save the world.

I agree with those reviews I have read that suggest that this shows the author being sloppy with the canon, forgetting the previous information given and suggested about Aufwader development, rather than choosing such a horrible angle. This view is supported by it not being a huge plot device and it not being something that is mentioned by others in the book. That being said, it does not really pass the 2022 check because of this,

[Ali]

I read this in Whitby, where I have been for a few days. I really enjoyed the first book in the trilogy,The Whitby Witches , and while there were bits of this book I liked, I didn't enjoy everything about it.

Ben and Jennet are still living with Miss Boston, their elderly foster-mother in Whitby. Following the events of the previous book, a mysterious visitor, Nathaniel Crozier, arrives in Whitby. He is quite scruffy looking, but has magnetic brown eyes and a lot of charm, and manages to bend the residents of Whitby, including Jennet, to his will. He is in fact the husband of Rowena Cooper, the villain of the previous book, and has come not only to be revenged on the people who defeated her, but also to unleash a terrible power that has been dormant for centuries.

In the meantime, Miss Boston has been called away to visit an old friend who is very ill in London. The children have been left in charge of the dithery and rather ineffectual Miss Werther, Whitby's post mistress. However, when she arrives, there is something very odd going on at her friend's house.

Ben's friend, Nelda the Aufwader, has her own problems. Since the curse of the Aufwaders wasn't fully broken in the previous book, she must appease Esau, one of the elders of the tribe, through marriage.

For me, the three strands of the book never really came together. I wanted to know more about all of them, and the Aufwader aspect of the story didn't tie together the way the other two did. Also, I found the way that Jennet was diminished in this book rather disappointing. I'd have liked her to have been far more instrumental in the plot of this book.

However, the sense of place and menace of Whitby (it takes place this time of year, when Whitby is at its most spooky) is really well evoked. It is an exciting read, and I'm sure that children of 9+ would enjoy it.

[Heather]

I liked this one well enough, but I have plenty of complaints. My main objection is that the entire issue with Nelda and Esau was gross and disturbing, and I don't know how any of the members of their community went along with that mess. Also, Nelda's decision near the end is the main reason I would not recommend this book for kids. Ewww. The horde of girls and women obsessed with Nathaniel was not believable, especially when accompanied by the illustrations of Nathaniel, who looked like a rather homely professor. Sure, he's a warlock, but some of these females were simpering over him before any magical influence on his part. And finally, the use of the comma in this book was bizarre and overdone. Instead of colons, semi-colons, periods, etc., most of the sentences are (what should be) several sentences just strung together with commas. Please tell me this is just bad editing and not the way British children's books are written?! I am still going to read the last book, as I want to know how things end up, but I can see why the second book wasn't republished in the U.S.

[Rebecca]

A bit of a slow burner, I didn't enjoy this as much as The Whitby Witches and it took me a while to get through. Maybe I'm just too old to be reliving my "yoof" by rereading my old favourites as an adult, but I do also think this is a series that may have been better as a standalone with Alice Boston saving Whitby and the world in book 1 and leaving it there. Moving on to The Whitby Child but I'm not holding much hope for enjoying it any more than this.

[Neil George]

Not as good as the Whitby witches. I also feel that the author lost touch with how old his characters were.

[Kelsey Wooley]

I admit it took me much longer to finish this book than needed, but that was solely because I accidentally spoiled myself by catching a glimpse of the last line of the book and the implications of it revolted me to the point I dreaded going further.

Let it be known, that I am very much a fan of the works of Robin Jarvis. The children/MG books possess an unusual darkness to them, even when they're about a bunch of cute, nature-loving mice and I loved that little bit of excitement, mystery and spookiness in them that I enjoyed greatly as a children and still do as an adult, especially the Deptford Mice series and the Thorn Ogres of Hagwood. And I really enjoyed the first book of this trilogy, "The Whitby Witches," very much.

However, this book might be the first of his that I would actually consider bumping up into YA rather than be labeled as suitable for children/MG readers. I don't take saying this lightly. I believe that children can handle a lot in books. But the plot inclusion of a disgusting old man force marrying a young girl (around the maturity of 12 or 13), raping her, and impregnating her felt absolutely too far for me. It doesn't go into detail and is treated with the repulsion such an action deserves, but that fact it happens in a book for children feels a step too far and just too dark, even for for the writing of Jarvis.

The rest of the book is fine, though I dislike how Jennet is very diminished. I'm still not sure if I'll read the third and last one of the trilogy, especially because the spoiler covered plot-lined. I just don't really trust how Jarvis will handle such a delicate subject and just not sure how much I want to even read of a character going through that.

[Matthew Lloyd]

There's always that worry, returning to a childhood favourite, that it won't quite live up to your memory of it, however incomplete that memory may be. Going into A Warlock in Whitby, I at least had the advantage of having reread The Whitby Witches last year, so I was prepared for some of the struggles. Even so, I think that Warlock stands up even more than its predecessor. Nathaniel Crozier is a genuinely terrifying villain. His casual disregard for the lives of other human beings in his pursuit of power is callous and compelling. There's also the very human cruelty of the bullies that pursue Ben and Jennet, the touching relationship Ben develops with Mr Roper, and the deeply disturbing stuff with the Aufwaders. For a young-young adult book from the early '90s, there's a lot that's disturbing in here. But it's presented as so awful and creepy, as a real darkness descending on the seaside Yorkshire town of Whitby. An atmospheric classic.

[Sandra Visser]

Not nearly as good as the first book. This one is just a tidal wave from Nathaniel's arrival and his ability to overpower everyone without any resistance. Jarvis takes you to hell, but instead of bringing you back he just leaves you there.

It's very frustrating to read how Nathaniel just does what he likes and no one can stop him. His influence over Jennet is also annoying and Miss Boston is completely ineffectual until the end when she suddenly just conquers the greatest evil. And can Jarvis just lay off crazy evil people who want to resurrect some horrible snake thing?

The ending is also disappointing and the aufwaders are just plain tragic and tedious. Hopefully the third book is better.

[Snarhooked]

Just as gripping as when I first read it as a child. The descriptions of the fish demon terrorising the town and the mounting horror as an even greater evil awakens from slumber. A new antagonist who can charm people to his side, even sensible Aunt Boston. Although I am still annoyed that only women were affected by this. The horror of Nelda's situation was just as shocking and strong reading it as an adult. A thoroughly engaging read and I look forward to picking up the last in the series.

[Tracey Boardman]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! More descriptive than the first in the trilogy. A proper tale of good overcoming evil. The description of the latest baddie,Nathaniel,is chilling. I hope the 3rd book, The Whitby Child, is even better.

[Kirsty]

Not as good as the first, mainly as the strong female characters from the first are either mainly absent (Aunt Alice), loved addled idiots (Jennet) or sidelined into a creepy child bride subplot (Nelda)

[Jennifer]

There is something deeply unsettling about a children’s book that alludes to a r*pe.

[Yorky Caz]

Didnt grip me as much as the first one did - I love the setting and the atmosphere but it just didn't quite hit the mark and dragged a tad

[Caitlin Robinson]

Brutal book, absolutely no comfort at all. That said, this very engaging and well written, deals with adult situations without being overly graphic or treating the reader like a child

[Hedi]

Multiple murders not enough, author decided to add a rape to the pile for the enjoyment of children. Fuck no.

[Sue]

If you suspend your scepticism as an adult, this is a thrilling sequel to The Whitby Witches. An enjoyable page turner.

[Matthew Hodge]

What can I say? This series just makes me want to visit Whitby more and more.

A darker outing all round, this one, with a truly malicious villain and many subplots all too good to be spoiled.

Jarvis ventures into some more adult places in this book, so beware parents, but it's well-handled. His finale is so apocalyptic, one can only wonder what the author will do to follow it up in the third book of the trilogy.

[Helen]

I really loved this book too - the illustrations are amazing and just help to drag the reader even further into the stories. Just as good as the Whitby Witches and still full of page-turning adventures.

[Edward Davies]

The second book in the Whitby series picks up a few months after the first one left off, and introduces even more weird and wonderful characters. This is a well-written children's fantasy that doesn't try to patronise it's audience - if anything some of the themes might be a little too grown up.

[Virginia]

Another interesting series by Robin Jarvis that combines elements of mythology and mysticism. Well written and fast moving!

[Christopher]

Just as exciting as the last one

[Windy]

A much darker tale than the first in this trilogy. Also, some quite grown up content considering it is meant to be a children's book.

Very entertaining.

[Bethnoir]

It's a bit grim, would have preferred a bit more happy, but I enjoyed it.

[Emy]

Read aged 11/12