The Age of Witches

The latest from Morgan (aka sf author Louise Marley) tells the tale of three women descended from Bridget Bishop, a witch hanged in Salem in 1692. In Gilded Age New York, Harriet Bishop, her cousin Frances Allington, and Frances’s stepdaughter Annis Allington are all witches of varying ages and knowledge of the power. The central theme is the struggle between light and dark magic, called malefecia by Morgan. This malefecia, handed down the Bishop ancestral line, corrupts everyone who uses it. Frances uses it to evil ends by trying to force Annis into a marriage with an English duke, while Harriet and Annis work to destroy Frances’s dark agenda. Morgan portrays witchcraft as freedom for the practitioners, with Harriet saying witch “should be a beautiful word” that’s instead “been perverted.” The author continues building mystery and intrigue with her impressive vocabulary, weaving a compelling tale of love and magic in historic America and England. Fans of Deborah Harkness’s “All Souls Trilogy” or Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth will enjoy reading this.