She was found on a January day in a field where the junipers grew, wound in a blue blanket with her name carefully stitched along the border with silk thread. This is how the prequel to Hoffman's Practical Magic and the story of the Owens women begins. It transpires over a forty year period in the latter half of the 17th century, a period in which some women were accused of witchcraft when others experienced misfortunes.
The protagonist and linchpin of the novel's three generations of Owens women is Maria, who was found by Hannah Owens, a cunning woman or folk healer who lived deep in the forest south of London. Hannah's healing services were sought by a number of women, especially potions for love. Maria grew up watching her adopted mother mixing potions for a variety of ailments and life conditions and learning from Hannah's grimoire, a personal textbook of magic. On the first page of the grimoire is the rules of magic, including the following:
Do as you will, but harm no one. What you give will be returned to you threefold.
This admonition applies for good or bad.
When the persecution of witches begin in England, Hannah gives Maria pays for transport to the new world in America, which is where her adventures continue.
I continue to love how Alice Hoffman writes. Her prose is so descriptive that the reader is immediately transported to whatever place or time she is writing about. The three generations of women, Hannah, Maria, and, eventually, Maria's daughter, Faith are also well described to the point that I was able to understand their motivations. It is a story of love between mother and daughter, betrayal, and temptation to the "dark side." Although I love her writing, she did become long-winded at times and found myself skipping lines. However, if you enjoy historical fiction and reading about the persecution of witches in Western hemisphere history, you should include this book on your list.
The protagonist and linchpin of the novel's three generations of Owens women is Maria, who was found by Hannah Owens, a cunning woman or folk healer who lived deep in the forest south of London. Hannah's healing services were sought by a number of women, especially potions for love. Maria grew up watching her adopted mother mixing potions for a variety of ailments and life conditions and learning from Hannah's grimoire, a personal textbook of magic. On the first page of the grimoire is the rules of magic, including the following:
Do as you will, but harm no one.
What you give will be returned to you threefold.
This admonition applies for good or bad.
When the persecution of witches begin in England, Hannah gives Maria pays for transport to the new world in America, which is where her adventures continue.
I continue to love how Alice Hoffman writes. Her prose is so descriptive that the reader is immediately transported to whatever place or time she is writing about. The three generations of women, Hannah, Maria, and, eventually, Maria's daughter, Faith are also well described to the point that I was able to understand their motivations. It is a story of love between mother and daughter, betrayal, and temptation to the "dark side." Although I love her writing, she did become long-winded at times and found myself skipping lines. However, if you enjoy historical fiction and reading about the persecution of witches in Western hemisphere history, you should include this book on your list.