The witches and the grinnygog

by Dorothy Edwards

Colin, the son of an English rector, suspects that the three strange women recently come to his village are actually witches in search of a magic stone figure from an old church.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

For the Welsh novelist see Dorothy Edwards

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Born as Dorothy Violet Ellen Brown into a working-class family, her father taught her to read at an early age, enabling her to write her first story at four years of age. Her stories, poems and articles were published throughout her twenties, and at this time she married her husband Frank Edwards and had two children, Jane and Frank.

Edwards' most famous stories are of My Naughty Little Sister, which she conceived to keep her daughter, Jane, quiet whilst on a family holiday in 1950. She wrote five books of these stories.

She also published several anthologies of short stories, folklore and poetry for children, chiefly on the subjects of magic, witchcraft and ghosts. Two of these are Ghosts and Shadows 1980 and Mists and Magic 1983.

She was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award for children's literature for The Witches and the Grinnygog 1981, a novel for children about the survival of benign pagan witchcraft in modern Britain. This novel was later adapted for television.

Edwards was part of the 1950s radio show Listen with Mother, and she also wrote for Playschool and Jackanory.

Reviews

[Alwynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very curious children’s book from the 1980s, later adapted for television and apparently shortlisted for a major literary prize. The fragmented story is presented as a reconstruction of events in an English village on the fringes of an area earmarked for development, the upheaval caused by building works bring to light the past history of the village and the ancient belief systems that once sustained it. A group of village children are caught up in the strange occurrences that follow. By chance they discover a grinnygog, a small idol tied to a long history of magic and women persecuted for witchcraft, its appearance somehow summons three guardians, immortal witches who escaped an era of witch trials and murder. The grinnygog’s visualised as a kind of stone, church ornament, modelled on actual pagan objects sometimes found nestled away in old British churches, relics of negotiations between pre-Christian and Christian religions, and linked to a past in which Christian churches often took over sites formerly dedicated to pagan worship. There are some fascinating elements of history and the supernatural contained in Edwards’s novel but it’s completely let down by the structure and her sketchily drawn characters. It’s organised as a series of documents, reports, recollections and interviews, which don’t quite cohere, so the overall narrative feels disjointed and unnecessarily dry, quite difficult to follow at times. The central and supporting characters are unconvincing and what seems to be an attempt to incorporate more diverse figures, notably a Black folklorist from an unspecified African country, drastically misfires veering between would-be sympathetic and appalling stereotypes.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was only recently that I managed to track down a copy of this book. Memories of the TV adaptation I'd watched as a child in the 80's finally drove me to it. The show was great and the book even better. It's another great kid's adventure story that paints a different picture of witches. Its obscurity has to be the only thing that kept it from being a popular children's classic.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Witches and the Grinnygog, Dorothy Edwards: Haven't seen the TV adaptation but loved this book. Great story, if a little convoluted, that shows witches of the old religion; interacting with the village people (including the rector), and reverencing nature, not following some so-called devil. UPDATE: I've now seen the TV rendition and enjoyed that, too.

[Jewels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a folklore enthusiast, ever since I was a small child. I recently remembered a TV show that I had seen when I was young, with the same title as the book. I don't know what brought it to mind, but I looked it up and found that the mini-series had been based on the tale by Ms. Edwards. The book is lovely, a narration of the adventures of the three witches seeking their Grinnygog, as seen through the eyes of the children involved. I highly recommend it to anyone, but it would also serve as a great introduction to folklore for some of the younger crowd.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

Somewhat abstruse and unlikely to appeal to post-millennial YA readers, Edwards’ tale of pagan magic reawakening in a small English village remains a curious, highly ambitious work, told always indirectly and sketching out its titular characters by painting the landscape around them.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just singular... A positive, feel-good, author tract for witchcraft,

This is an absolute must for fans of Neil Gaiman or Harry Potter, and its the book A Wrinkle in Time was trying to be, but got it wrong.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this first as a BBC mini-series on TV. Does anyone else remember it? I enjoyed the book too.

[Leila Anani · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mother saw this on the TV back in the early 1980's and raved about it. She bought me the book but I have to say I struggled with this. I hated the narrative style (looking back, rambling accounts with articles thrown in) and its very complex for its audience of maybe 10 year olds. Saying that it is highly original and imaginative, I just struggled with the format. I never saw the screen version but perhaps it helped, telling the story without all the waffle.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have often watched the made-for-TV movie “The Witches & the Grinnygog” since 1984. I only knew of the book’s existence about 5 years ago. The book did not disappoint! It’s a fantastic blend of pagan religion and eerie imagery. A must-read for any Anglophile, fans of magic/horror, or YA folklore.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best kind of children's book

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had fond memories of watching this as a child. I loved this book.