The Great Witch of Brittany

In Morgan’s prequel to The Secret History of Witches, she writes a multigenerational story told from the perspective of Ursule Orchière, who is 13 years old in 1763 as the book opens. Ursule and her fortune-telling mother Agnes are in Brittany with a Romani traveling caravan, and Ursule is growing into her powers as a witch. Ten years later we find them at Kerjean Farm, where Ursule falls in love and gives birth to a daughter, Léonie. As her daughter grows and rejects her Romani heritage and her mother’s “gypsy ways,” Ursule hopes that Léonie’s children will be more accepting of the Orchière legacies. The final section of the story, after the French Revolution, finds Ursule and her six granddaughters back at her caravan, where she can guide the youngest, Nanette, on her witchy gifts and the family traditions. British-born narrator and award-winning actress Polly Lee instills a sense of belonging to the tale and reinforces the mesmerizing storytelling with her clear reading of this story of family, history, and self-discovery.