Cunning Women
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Cunning Women
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Narrated by:
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Taj Atwal
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By:
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Elizabeth Lee
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
A bewitching debut from a magnetic new voice in historical fiction. Cunning Women is sure to be loved by fans of The Essex Serpent and The Mercies.
They only want a kindness, but beware, for if you have no coin, they will curse you black and blue.
1620s Lancashire. Away from the village lies a small hamlet, abandoned since the Plague, where only one family dwells amongst its ruins. Young Sarah Haworth, her mother, brother and little sister, Annie, are a family of outcasts by day and the recipients of visitors by night. They are cunning folk: the villagers will always need them, quick with a healing balm or more, should the need arise. They can keep secrets, too, because no one would believe them anyway.
When Sarah spies a young man taming a wild horse, she risks being caught to watch him calm the animal. And when Daniel sees Sarah, he does not just see a strange, dirty thing; he sees her for who she really is: a strong creature about to come into her own. But can something as fragile as love blossom between these two in such a place as this?
When a new magistrate arrives to investigate the strange ends that keep befalling the villagers, he has his eye on one family alone. And a torch in his hand.
Cunning Women is the powerful reckoning of a young woman with her wildness, a heartbreaking tale of young love and a shattering story of the intolerance that reigned during the long shadow of the Pendle Witch Trials, when those who did not conform found persecution at every door.
©2021 Elizabeth Lee (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Cunning Women
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss E Rogers
- 14-10-22
Fantastic from start to finish!
The narrator really brings the characters alive. Can't wait to listen to more books by Elizabeth Lee.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emily B.
- 04-04-22
heartbreaking
fabulous story. I really enjoyed it. loosely based on the Pendle Witch circumstances but enough literary licence to give a fresh perspective.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert Seed
- 06-08-21
A window into a forgotten time
A fantastical slice of life from a time, pre-enlightenment, for a girl and her ‘cunning’ family as they try to make ends meet under constant threat of persecution.
Set around the time of the Pendle Witch Trials in the early 17th century this was a time I knew little about. Wonderfully written and perfectly narrated I thought, it really made me think about what life must have been like in the dark ages before the light of science was discovered and known to the masses.
The language used is a little different from modern prose which fits well for the setting I thought. At times the story is quite dark (think William Golding’s Lord Of The Flies) but thrilling nonetheless as I felt I knew the various characters so well.
I thoroughly enjoyed it all and it wasn’t what I was expecting or what I would normally read/listen to. As a debut novel, I thought it brilliant and I can’t wait to see (and hear) what comes next from Elizabeth Lee!
Very much recommended.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fran Manca
- 11-07-21
Brilliant
Loved it. Really good plot, very good characters depth, easy listening. Absolutely recommended !
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maddy
- 24-05-22
amazing
absolutely loved everything about this book. would highly recommend. a perfect mix of love, drama and witches
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dani C
- 19-04-23
Beautiful tale rooted in feminism
I loved the majority of this story and really enjoyed getting to know the main characters and empathising with their plight. Sarah's character development was fascinating to read and the adversity the family faced heart breaking. However, I didn't feel the story was finished very well, Daniel's character development seemed stunted, and the ending a bit of an after thought. It was a shame as the rest of book promised so much more.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- rebecca t.
- 14-12-23
Narration
I loved the way this was read, I utterly believed it and felt like I was living it with them. I particularly loved the ending!!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jay
- 13-10-21
excellent
really enjoyed the narration; beautiful story, in its heartbreak and hope. will order book too
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tilly Cat
- 02-08-22
A beautiful story
I loved it - the story of Sarah and Daniel was so well written. A little bit of witch craft mixed with a lot of tension and tragedy.
Really loved the ending too.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-07-22
story stops abruptly at the end
I was waiting on it to come to something, I was enjoying it the it just finished dead!!!! I feel cheated, such a waste of my time and credit
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2 people found this helpful