The Elegant Witch Author:Robert Neill In 17th Century England, the setting of this novel, the riotous politics of the Reformation made witchcraft no Halloween fantasy, but a thriving trade conducted by individuals highly skilled in murder. Although ignorant and superstitious fold attributed their evil powers to magic, it was primarily with poison that these real-life witches dispos... more »ed of their enemies. A veritable hotbed of intrigue was rural Lancashire when orphaned Margery Whitaker came to make her home with a distant cousin, Roger Nowell. Roger was a King's Justice for the County, charged with maintaining law and order among Puritans, Papists, and accused witches alike, and Margery became his clerk, learning much of the sinister happenings in the region. Backed by a good Calvinist education and no less aided by her wit and beauty, she made many friends and was soon a familiar figure galloping through Pendle Forest in her bright orange riding habit. On her rides, she found 2 suitors: handsome Miles Nutter of Rough Lee and the dashing Francis Hilliard, who was in the service of the Earl of Derby. And once in the mist-shrouded forest she discovered a hidden but well-tended bed of belladonna, which would have caused the curious symptoms which preceded a sudden series of similar local deaths. Outraged by the Candlemas desecration of graves in the cemetery at Newchurch, the residents of Pendle raised a hue and cry against all suspected witches. And Roger and Margery faced danger from all sides as they sought to unmask the satanic plotter who had introduced murder into Pendle Forest. With a wealth of historical detail and vivid description, THE ELEGANT WITCH re-creates one of England's greatest witch hunts and the breath-taking and almost unbelievable adventures of troubled lovers ensnared in all its violence and fury.« less