Book ReviewOld Book Review!! ; |
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I have recently been delving back in time, searching for novels
published before 1950, with the theme of witchcraft, and have turned up a bit of a gem. First published in 1927, John Buchan’s novel ‘Witch Wood’ must have caused a bit of a stir when it
appeared, although the fact that in its first year it underwent five reprints would maybe hint that it sold rather better than anticipated. Anyway, I shall give you a brief outline here and recommend it for further reading.
It is set in Scotland and begins in the late summer of 1644 with the arrival of a newly ordained minister in the remote parish of Woodilee, which up until then has not given the church any trouble. But the following February the minister’s suspicions are aroused by the high percentage of the births in the parish being to unmarried girls. His enquiries as to the fathers of these children are met with a wall of silence, with the mothers duly arriving at the penance stool to confess their sins, but only one of the repentant fathers showing up. But with the coming of spring the minister discovers that although his flock are outwardly devout churchgoers, their nocturnal revelries are not at all Christian. Maybe previous ministers have chosen to turn a blind eye in view of the Church Elder also being the devil of the coven. But when our lovely minister David Sempill (you find yourself warming to his character very early on) discovers what his parishioners get up to out in the woods, the status quo is about to be hurled to the four quarters. Of course such corruption cannot be fought without casualties and whilst the church Elder remains protected, there is a very sad passage, which details the treatment of an old woman, who was actually a member of the coven, at the hands of the witch-pricker: ‘David’s heart sickened with disgust. |
Chasehope had turned the tables on him; he had diverted suspicion from himself by
sacrificing a half-witted woman,’ It is something that you can imagine having happened. But she is not the only sacrifice, as the minister refuses to withdraw his accusation against the Elder and is ultimately excommunicated from the church, his unorthodox
methods of controlling the spread of plague being used against him.
The story is told retrospectively and right at the beginning we learn the ultimate fate of the minister. According to local legend, he was spirited away by the faeries. During the course of the novel you can see how such a legend came about. He discovers the beauty of the surrounding countryside, in particular a glade in the wood, which is a part of the ancient Caledonian Forest, where he finds ‘a dancing-floor for wood nymphs, a playground for the Good Folk’ and looking up, he catches sight of a figure, ‘nymph, fairy, or mortal, he knew not which. He was no longer the minister of Woodilee, but eternal wandering youth, and he gave chase.’ The villagers have also often seen this mysterious figure and they too believe her to be a faery and as she is subsequently seen in the minister’s company, in the wood, it is obvious to them that he has been spirited away when he eventually disappears from the village. The truth is actually a bit more down to earth, but I will leave you to discover it for yourselves. It is a very readable book, despite the Scottish phonetics for some of the characters and despite its age is still in print and widely available and well worth the seeking out. Freda |
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