Mrs Butler's Blog Number 14

Number 14 November 2005

At last, a book to give to fans of Witch Child! The sequel, Sorceress, was a bit too adult for many of the keenest Witch Child readers, but The Merrybegot by Julie Hearn may fill the gap.

I’m not sure if the word Merrybegot is an invention or a real rural superstition, but its meaning of a child born as a result of May Day merrymaking (frolicking!) sounds authentic or it ought to be. The other attributes of a Merrybegot as midwife to the fairies and protected by unearthly powers are the real concerns of this tale, which is set at the time of the Civil War, when the rise of the Puritans made it fairly hazardous to be involved with witchcraft.

The book is laid out in an intriguing way with the main story of Nell, the cunning woman’s granddaughter, interrupted by frequent remedies and spells, set in a wonderful typeface like ancient handwriting. Then it is framed and chopped up by another version of the story, (The Confession of Patience Madden), told by one of the vicar’s daughters nearly fifty years later in Salem. There are strong echoes of The Crucible in the witch-hunt and pretence of teenage hysteria – using the same sources, I suppose - but the surprise ending makes up for it all and Nell deserves her fate. By the end I was rather fond of the piskies - and the brown chicken.