A Secret History Of Witches - Louisa Morgan

From early 19th-century France to London in World War II,

five generations of Orchiére women work to protect their family and carry on the craft.

But power is dangerous, especially in those times.

Keeping the craft and tradition alive isn't easy when persecution waits around every

corner.

•••••

Romani Gypsies on the run from witch-hunters in France, suspicious farmers in Cornwall, wealthy aristocrats in south England, confidants of the royal family, instruments of war in World War II, the Orchiére women’s history had me captivated from page one. The story starts with the grandmother's sacrifice to keep her family’s true ancestry a secret and continues on through to the lives of her descendants and what they too had to sacrifice to keep their family secret safe. It is an Orchiére woman’s duty to carry on the tradition and the worship of the craft. Every daughter must learn how to control her magic and always, always, keep it a secret. No matter what time or place, people fear those with power that they cannot understand.

I honestly didn’t think this book would measure up to some of my personal favourites but I wanted a good witchy journey to dive into before Halloween and it didn’t disappoint.

The prologue hooked me in from the start. A coven of witches, a family, hiding between the standing stones off a beach in Brittany as a group of witch hunters barely passes them by. Protected only because Ursulé, the Crone of the coven, used all her remaining energy and life to foresee the place where her family could find safety. With the vision of creating a small farm in Cornwall, the Orchiére’s make their way to a new life.

Nanette, a small child when her grandmother died, grows up innocent of it all at a farm in Cornwall until, when she comes of age, she inherits her grandmother’s powers and skill with the scrying stone. But the ones who hunted them are never far from sight and she must learn to reign in her power and, most important of all, conceive a daughter to carry on the craft. After a night with a traveller, she succeeds in that task but casts herself in an even more suspicious light with the townsfolk in her attempts to keep her daughter safe.

Ursulé, Nanette’s daughter does not believe in anything, magic or holy. She scoffs at her “powers” and does nothing but disappoint her mother in her lack of skill and belief until it’s only her and her mother left, the last two Orchiére women. In order to carry on the line and ensure it does not die with them, a desperate attempt leaves Ursulé on the run with her unborn child. It took the ultimate heartbreak for her to understand that the craft could not be ignored or mistreated. Something her, her daughter, her granddaughter, and her great-granddaughter will all find out down the road. Iréne, Ursulé’s daughter is the only different woman within the line. Family and loyalty mean nothing to her. All she dreams of is being a Lady instead of a farm girl. She has no love wasted on her family. She is a blip on the Orchiére line. The one thing she does do right is ensure her daughter, Morwen, continues the craft. But Morwen does not have the same ambition as her mother, she just wants love and a family.

Finally, the last book. The book of Veronica. Veronica grows up ignorant of her heritage. Her mother wasn’t around to teach her about her gifts. She stumbles upon them on her own and must learn herself the price that comes with magic.

Up until this book, I found the hidden rituals believable and entrancing. With this book, the unrealistic aspects of the novel made a weak finish to an otherwise very interesting story. Veronica herself is a strong character and it seems as if all the previous books have led up this character and her finale in the Orchiére line. But teaming up with the “secretly a witch” Queen Mother to defeat the Nazi’s was a bit too much to swallow for me. That and the historical inaccuracies that, to me, were obvious. For example, Veronica practices magic at night in the basement of Windsor Castle with the Queen. In reality, the King and Queen stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war in solidarity with their people. The story transformed from a very original and entrancing piece of work with believable characters to a stereotypical hero-type plot that sounded like a YA novel. It was a bit of a disappointing ending to an otherwise great book.

One thing about Veronica’s tale, her love story was the only one with any substance. Everyone in her line before her had only ever had short-term, unstable, or tragic relationships. Veronica finds a real, true love in the war. Valéry, a French soldier evacuated from Dunkirk, understands Veronica. He understands who she is, what she is, and the danger she faces every day. The saving grace to her story was Valéry.

Admittedly I only picked this book up as a last-minute Halloween read. I didn’t expect it to be good. But I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great book to cuddle up with when the weather was getting cold. The focus on how the craft, as well as responsibility of the craft, was inherited from woman to woman was so unique. The grassroots magic that they practice and the secrecy of that practice is what drew me in. No fabulous spells to make someone fall in love or save a best friend from a terrible fate. No great acts of heroism. No “witch doctor” vibes. They observed their rituals, kept to themselves, and made as little a dent in history as possible. (Until that last book). They didn’t flaunt their power. They worked in secret to achieve the safety and protection of those they loved in small ways. Yes, it had its faults, every story was abandoned just when the character became the most interesting and some of the plot was a little far-fetched even for a witchy novel. But it was an easy and enjoyable break.

-Taylor