A powerful and shocking witch trial thriller: the tale of the 1650 Newcastle witch trials brought to life.

Recommended for fans of The Familiars, The Witchfinder's Sister, The Manningtree Witches, Cunning Women, A Secret History of Witches, The Daylight Gate, Circe, The Crucible, A Discovery of Witches.

Widdershins is told through the eyes of Jane Chandler, a young woman accused of witchcraft, and John Sharpe, the witchfinder who condemns her to death.

Jane Chandler is an apprentice healer. From childhood, she and her mother have used herbs to cure the sick. But Jane soon learns that her sheltered life in a small village is not safe from the troubles of the wider world.

From his father’s beatings to his uncle’s raging sermons, John Sharpe is beset by bad fortune. Fighting through personal tragedy, he finds his purpose: to become a witchfinder and save innocents from the scourge of witchcraft.

Widdershins is inspired by the Newcastle witch trials, where 16 people were hanged. Despite being one of the largest mass executions of witches on a single day in England, these trials are not widely known about. In August 1650, 15 women and one man were hanged as witches after a Scottish witchfinder found them guilty of consorting with the devil. This notorious man was hired by the Puritan authorities in response to a petition from the Newcastle townsfolk who wanted to be rid of their witches.

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