![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Fawsetwood.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1\")
By Dorothy Louise Abrams\nEastman Books And Publishing, \u00a9 May 1, 2024
\nASIN: B0CW1K33X6
\nKindle Version, file size 1497 kb; paperback 473 pages\n
<\/p>By Dorothy Louise Abrams
\nEastman Books And Publishing, \u00a9 May 1, 2024
\nASIN: B0CW1K33X6
\nKindle Version, file size 1497 kb; paperback 473 pages\n
This was an intriguing historical fiction novel set in Cumberland, Northern England, in the 12th century. The main character, Alain, is a youth fostered far from his home, to the circle of Witches at Fawsetwood. There, he meets elders who routinely practice the Old Ways, celebrating the Sabbats and Moons, and who teach Alain and their other apprentices the ways of magick and the old gods. Alain is in love with this life and would do anything to stay there. But the Church, and the followers of the Tortured God, have other ideas on how the Witches of Fawsetwood and all their sister circles should worship. The Old Ways are about to go into hiding, and Alain is set to tell the tale of that journey.<\/p>\n
As someone who has practiced the Old Ways for many years, this book caught my interest from the first page. Abrams deftly combines ancient practices with contemporary ones in such a way that rituals and practices on the page are completely believable and immersive. Alain\u2019s dedication to the Craft shines through and touches the reader\u2019s heart, showing the beauty and mystery of the rites, though there have been changes through the ages. For one, in 12th century England, where life expectancy was much shorter than it is now, people were mated and married as early as age 12\u2014a practice not common in first-world countries today\u2014so individuals were considered adults at that age, and expected to be sexually active, even producing children. Also, language is\u2026different. Abrams is true to the story\u2019s era in both these lights, so be warned. I did have a wee bit of trouble with the language here and there, but for the most part, I managed to figure out the meaning of Cumberland speech by context. There is a glossary in the back, if you\u2019ve a mind to use it.<\/p>\n
In the beginning, Abrams explains why she has taken the direction she did with these somewhat touchy aspects of her tale\u2019s era. At the end, she gives a detailed historical report on the characters mentioned in the story, as well as the era and region where the story takes place\u2014both helpful and useful tools for readers of the Fawsetwood story.<\/p>\n
This is book one of a coming series, and even though I am not normally a fan of historical fiction, I am on board to read all the sequels in Alain\u2019s tale. This book ends with the looming threat the Church poses to those who practice any other faith, including those of the Old Ways, which they consider \u201cthe divil\u2019s work.\u201d This isn\u2019t a spoiler. Anyone even passingly familiar with that era knows of the \u201cwitch\u201d burnings and persecutions. I suspect there will be shadows of that in the books to come, and while it might not be pleasant, it will likely reflect accuracy. I look forward to reading the next book.<\/p>\n
If you like historical fiction, especially stories that reflect Witches, Pagan practices, and magical, mystical rites, you\u2019ll love this story. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Dorothy Louise Abrams Eastman Books And Publishing, \u00a9 May 1, 2024 ASIN: B0CW1K33X6 Kindle Version, file size 1497 kb; paperback 473 pages This was an intriguing historical fiction novel set in Cumberland, Northern England, in the 12th century. The main character, Alain, is a youth fostered far from his home, to the circle of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-17n","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3079,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/06\/the-limits-of-enchantment-a-novel\/","url_meta":{"origin":4301,"position":0},"title":"The Limits of Enchantment: A Novel","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Graham Joyce \u00a9 2013, Black Dust Creations Ltd ASIN: B00F66Q8TK Kindle version; file size 1104 KB In every way that matters, Fern Cullen is daughter to Mammy Cullen, who sees to the needs of village women in rural England around 1960. 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