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    The Last Witchfinder: A Novel
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    The Last Witchfinder: A Novel
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    The Last Witchfinder: A Novel
    Ebook697 pages13 hours

    The Last Witchfinder: A Novel

    By James Morrow

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Jennet Stearne's father hangs witches for a living in Restoration England. But when she witnesses the unjust and horrifying execution of her beloved aunt Isobel, the precocious child decides to make it her life's mission to bring down the Parliamentary Witchcraft Act. Armed with little save the power of reason, and determined to see justice prevail, Jennet hurls herself into a series of picaresque adventures—traveling from King William's Britain to the fledgling American Colonies to an uncharted island in the Caribbean, braving West Indies pirates, Algonquin Indian captors, the machinations of the Salem Witch Court, and the sensuous love of a young Ben Franklin. For Jennet cannot and must not rest until she has put the last witchfinder out of business.

    Editor's Note

    A lively hunt…

    Set against the backdrop of Restoration-era witch trials, Morrow’s lively tale of an international hunt for justice speaks to the power of reason over rumor.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061870569
    Unavailable
    The Last Witchfinder: A Novel
    Author

    James Morrow

    Born in 1947, James Morrow has been writing fiction ever since he, as a seven-year-old living in the Philadelphia suburbs, dictated “The Story of the Dog Family” to his mother, who dutifully typed it up and bound the pages with yarn. This three-page, six-chapter fantasy is still in the author’s private archives. Upon reaching adulthood, Jim produced nine novels of speculative fiction, including the critically acclaimed Godhead Trilogy. He has won the World Fantasy Award (for Only Begotten Daughter and Towing Jehovah), the Nebula Award (for “Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge” and the novella City of Truth), and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (for the novella Shambling Towards Hiroshima). A fulltime fiction writer, Jim makes his home in State College, Pennsylvania, with his wife, his son, an enigmatic sheepdog, and a loopy beagle. He is hard at work on a novel about Darwinism and its discontents.

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    Reviews for The Last Witchfinder

    3.5/5

    24 ratings20 reviews

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    • 3/5
      A woman's life trying to establish a grand argument to dismiss the legal standing of witch finders. Didn't really grab me.
    • 4/5
      This book can only be described as historical fantasy. Morrow uses the horrific history of witch finding from England to America through the character of Jennet Stearne who spends her life trying to come up with a grand argument that would legally undermine witchfinders, the livelihood of her father and brother. Along the way, she is abducted by Algonquin Indians, shipwrecked with Ben Franklin, and accused of witchcraft herself. The narrator is Newton's Principia Mathematica, the text that Jennet used for her argument, and in the interludes, the book describes its battle against the Malleus Maleficarum, the witch hunting handbook. Here's where fantasy really takes over. The writing was rich and evocative, often ironic, and sometimes just fun.
    • 2/5
      Ambitious much?
    • 3/5
      A woman's life trying to establish a grand argument to dismiss the legal standing of witch finders. Didn't really grab me.
    • 2/5
      This book was a huge disappointment. While my readings of James Morrow have been limited, I have greatly enjoyed what I have read. But this book was a significant letdown from the expectations I have built.Now, I want it known that those previous readings did not really impact the reading of this book. That is, I recognized that, while everything else of Morrow's I had read was in a more science fictional vein, this was a historical novel. However, I still expected something different – an approach or a style that provided a fresh look on a fascinating and dark time of our history. Yes, there was a fresh approach (more on that towards the end of this review), but it did not provide salvation. Instead, I encountered nothing but a pedestrian exploration of the past with characters struggling way too hard to stand out from their times, and a fast and easy play with historical fact.Let's start with that one first. I quote from Morrow's "Author's Note": "...the writer of historical fiction derives no less delight from adhering to the facts of his chosen era than he does from bending those facts in pursuit of some presumed poetic truth." Not the worst infraction of any writer. In fact, anyone who believes historical fiction to be absolute truth is living a fool's dream. However, when it is bent to breaking, then we have a problem. More quotes: "The young Benjamin Franklin...formally requested...an audience with Sir Isaac Newton, though nothing came of Franklin's plea. Chapter Eight offers my speculations on what might have transpired at this meeting had it occurred." We have here a major historical plot point that never happened.So, the suspension of disbelief is thrown out the window with the author's very own words. My appreciation and enjoyment of this piece might have survived this particular bludgeoning. But then we have the book itself. I just don't care about these people. And I do not believe in the characters, in particular the star of the show – Jennet Stearne. She starts as the daughter of an English witchfinder. When her teacher is accused and executed for witchcraft, she begins her mission to prove and then disprove the existence of witches. She gets kidnapped by Indians and learns they are not savages. She escapes and becomes the paramour of Benjamin Franklin. She travels to England to plead her scientific case. She is accused of being a witch herself. She faces many trials and travails. Lots of stuff happens to her. (Reading the synopsis on the back of the book it is hard to tell if this is a serious novel or a bodice-ripping potboiler.)All that being said, there is one interesting, potentially redeeming aspect of this book. The story is told from the viewpoint of a book. Interspersed throughout the telling of this mundane tale is the perspective of this book – how it looks at human foibles and how it perceives the role of books in our lives. This could have been an irritating affectation (and I am sure some will see it that way.) I found it a respite from what would have otherwise been a completely boring and unworthy read.However, that one excursion – that one interesting aspect – does not save the effort. Maybe Morrow was going for one of those sweeping novels that span a lifetime to show the vista of life. Maybe he was going for a study of how lives change. Maybe he was going for an exploration of how women were chattel and given no chance except for the few who were willing to stand out and pay the price. Maybe he was going for entertaining the reader.None of these were achieved. Instead he provided a long journey that did not sweep, did not study, did not explore, and did not entertain.I am not put off Morrow because of this book. But my faith has taken a nasty blow.
    • 4/5
      its a curious one this. it follows the life of jennet stearne as she dedicates her life to dissproving witchcraft having seen her beloved aunt burnt at the stake as a child. it also follows the narration of one of newtons greatest works discussing various books and how books are responsible for books.
      its slightly bizarre but i couldnt help myself from wanting to know what happened. at first i wasnt sure, especially after reading some of the reviews, but i stuck with it and enjoyed it. recommended if u like something a bit off the wall and different
    • 5/5
      For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.- 1 Samuel 15.23In The Last Witchfinder, James Morrow has created an interesting amalgam of historical fiction, fantasy, and scientific treatise. Morrow is obviously a skilled writer, and manages to pull this witches’ brew off quite well. The story is interesting and at times arresting, and Morrow has important things to say about superstition and reason, religion and science. I called the book a fantasy, but it does not in fact contain any speculative elements, it being more an inspired alternate history in which several historical personages make their appearances, including Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, and the Baron de Montesquieu. It works surprisingly well, especially considering its length. Morrow does sometimes become a bit forceful in his arguments, which could be construed as polemical. But I enjoyed the story immensely, and found myself agreeing with most of Morrow’s standpoints on the dichotomy of faith and reason. Perhaps the book could have done with some more pruning, but it is such an interesting picaresque adventure, combining the physical with the metaphysical, that it would be shrewish of me to find too much fault with Morrow’s exuberance.I could try to summarise the plot, but it presents certain difficulties, not least of which is that it seems completely absurd and unworkable in précis. Any story that contains burning-at-the-stake, a foetus-carnival, living-with-American-Indians, Robinson-Crusoe-marooning, and lots of sex, would be difficult to make sense of in synopsis. Despite this, I should mention that the story is set in the late 17th century, and follows the adventures of Jennet Stearne, the child of a witchfinder, who rebels against the practice after the immolation of her aunt. She becomes a natural philosopher, or quasi-scientist, hell-bent on disproving the existence of witchcraft, demons, and all the paraphernalia that goes with such hokum.The novel’s framing device was quite original: Morrow has Jennet’s story narrated by a book, namely Newton’s Principia Mathematica, which is in a heated battle with the Malleus Maleficarum, or “The Hammer of the Witches”. This device did not always work for me: the Principia sometimes makes Morrow’s arguments for him too forcefully, and, because the book writes as though from modern times (i.e. the 21st century), it felt like it was making anachronistic comments quite often. But Morrow also reveals fascinating facts in these vignettes, so I feel a bit ambivalent about them.The novel is also a bildungsroman in which Jennet’s development from precocious child to self-sufficient woman is depicted. Jennet is a strong female character, but Morrow does not fall into the trap of making her invulnerable or inhuman. Although initially a bit of a bluestocking, Jennet learns about the practical side of life during her time in America, especially when she is abducted by Algonquin Indians. Morrow walks a fine line when depicting his Indians, avoiding both the noble savage and, well, savage savage stereotypes. That said, this part of the novel seemed a bit inconsequential, and its inclusion only really made sense towards the end.The final witch-trial of Jennet Stearne is probably the best scene of the novel. How could it be otherwise, with Montesquieu defending Jennet and Ben Franklin writing up the court reports? Morrow paints a searing picture of the practice of witch-finding, which was, to all intents and purposes, a form of genocide mostly aimed at old, vulnerable women, although men and children were not always safe. The Salem-trails, which make an appearance earlier in the novel, make it clear how this type of hysteria could sweep a community, leading to the deaths of many innocent (that is, innocent of witchcraft) people. Jennet’s trail is another miscarriage of justice, but it eventually has a salutary effect on later practices. And as for Jennet herself, well, you will just have to read the book for yourself to discover what happens…The Last Witchfinder was tremendously enjoyable, a veritable romp through history and philosophy. It has its problems, but Morrow’s humanity and exuberance make up for most of these. Quite hilarious at times, it satisfied me no end.
    • 3/5
      Could there be a perkier, more appealing heroine than Jennet Stearne. She survives a withfinder father, a rationalist aunt, shipwreck, pirates, kidnapping by Indians, and all while perfecting a proof of the non-existence of witches. SHe is, indeed, the Hammer of Witchfinders and I liked her very much.
    • 5/5
      I found this book fascinating and a little strange at the same time! The writing style gets a bit of getting used to but once you get into the book its great! Set in England in the 17 century.Jennet Stearne is an intelligent precocious young woman her, aunt Isobel is a radical thinking woman and excellent teacher who takes on Jennet's education whilst her father and brother travel round the country hunting down witches and bringing them to justice, with some of the extraordinary methods used in the times. Things go well until the witchfinders find Isobels scientific experiments and style of teaching too much like "Witchcraft" to understand! Isobel is tried and executed as a witch and Jennet determines to overturn the Parliamentry witchcraft act and bring about the end to the barbaric crimes carried out by the Witchfinders in the name of the lord! Jennets father and brother are exhiled to the Americas for overstepping his authority, and Jennet has to go too as she is only 12, and her adventures begin. I really do not want to tell you the whole plot but it is a rollercoaster of a ride.Anyone interested in Witchcraft trials and 17th century life would find this a really good read.
    • 4/5
      From the back:"Jennet Stearn's father hangs witches for a living in Restoration England. But when she witnesses the unjust and horrifying execution of her beloved aunt Isabel, the precocious child decides to make it her life's mission to bring down the Parliamentary Witchcraft Act. Armed with little save the power of reason, and determined to see justice prevail, Jennet hurls herself into a series of picaresque adventures--traveling from King William's Britain to the fledgling American Colonies to an uncharted island in the Caribbean, braving West Indies pirates, Algonquin Indian captors, the machinations of the Salem Witch Court, and the sensuous love of a young Ben Franklin. For Jennet cannot and must not rest until she had put the last witchfinder out of business."My review:This is not your ordinary historical fiction. James Morrow uses the story of Jennet Stearne to explore the the clash of Reason and Revelation whose battles are still going on in our own times. Jennet is an appealing character whose single-minded devotion to eliminating witchfinding causes her pain and gives her power. I particularly liked the device of using a book's "voice" (Newton's Principia Mathematica) to introduce and comment on the story. Morrow writes with confidence and elegance. Highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      Set in the 17C it is the story of a girl called Jenet Stearne who goes to live with her Aunt to study. Her Father and brother are 'witch-finders' and travel the land searching out women with 'witchy' tendencies! Her Aunt ends up being accused and put to death by her father and Jenet then sets out to prevent this ahppening to people. I really enjoyed learning about this period of history but the style of writing was disjointed and therefore heavy going, I would have preferred a straight story without all the refences and 'cuttings'. I'm glad I persevered, I feel I learnt a lot from it.
    • 4/5
      Irresistible. One woman's journey told from her point of view - witnessing her teacher, a beloved, innocent aunt burned for witchcraft, Jennet Stearne devotes her life to eradicating the Parliamentary Witchcraft Act.
    • 4/5
      The Last Witchfinder is about a spunky skeptic and natural scientist named Jennet Stearne. After her favorite aunt is executed for witchcraft, Jennet makes it her mission to disprove the idea of sorcery once and for all via scientific proof.But disproving witchcraft is not a simple and scientific matter; every obstacle that Jennet runs into is because she is challenging the religious faith of her community. And people (particularly Puritans) are generally very unyielding when you cross their religion. The conflict set up is not exactly religion versus reason, but a willingness to learn and examine things versus stubbornly keeping your blinders on in the face of opposition. This level of fanaticism impedes honest science, so it's harmful to society and beneficial to nobody. Even after Jennet lays out a scientific disproof before a court:"they'd understood nothing of what she'd meant by Nature's laws. Instead they'd found...a woman so impious and arrogant that she'd routinely attempted to make Heaven's fire submit to her will."
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable historical yarn, with a good sense of humour and an underlying message or two. Jennet sees her beloved aunt a tutor burnt at the stake by her witchfinder father and vows to end the practice by persuading the public that their misfortunes are due to nature not magic.While Morrow does not exactly wear his learning lightly, he never lets it interfere with the story whcih takes our heroine from England to North America with a somewhat pointless sojourn marooned in the Caribbean. The melding of 17th century natural philosophy with an adventurous romp is similar to Neal Stephenson's Baroque trilogy but at several levels below that masterpiece. It is marred a little by padding and by the use of a frame. The latter device seems increasingly prevalent but rarely seems to be necessary and to me at least is annoying.
    • 2/5
      Unfortunately I gave up on this book about halfway through. The story is reasonably compelling - the sister of the last witchfinder is herself a daughter of the enlightenment and masters newtonian physics to write a proof that witches don't exist - but then one gets the periodic riffs of Morrow interspersed in the story. His style is polished and some of what he writes is entertaining, but not nearly enough to justify interrupting the story line so often. A review on the back cover says Morrow is what Salman Rusdie might write like if he had a sense of humor.
    • 4/5
      After seeing a beloved, enlightened aunt burned at the stake as a witch at the instigation of her own father, the protagonist devotes her life to developing a rational proof that witches cannot exist. Through a series of adventures probably equally implausible as those in The Historian, but made more plausible by the author, she is captured by New England Indians & lives among them, bearing a daughter who dies in an epidemic, then returns to white society & becomes Benjamin Franklin's lover; returning from England, they are stranded for years on a deserted island (except for the colony of escaped slaves they come upon after several years); there she bears Franklin's son, whom upon return to society once again she leaves to Franklin to rear as she continues her research. She herself is eventually brought to trial by her brother (but at her own intentional instigation) as a witch, thinking she can thus disprove the existence of witches. But she is convicted & condemned to hang, but is saved by Franklin & his colleagues & goes into exile among the Indians she lived with earlier, eventually returning to white society one more time. Through all of these adventures, the author has lots to say about religion (mostly negative) & reason. Oh, and there's a unique narrative strategy: having the story told by a book--Newton's Mathematica Principia. It starts out highly entertaining but can't really be sustained. But the author's voice is a compelling one nonetheless.
    • 2/5
      As an intriguing premise, the story is written and narrated at times by a book--Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, whose "father"--author--was, of course, Sir Isaac Newton, one of the greatest physicists of all times. In a truly hilarious first chapter, the book describes its origins, discourses on its "father"--and sets the stage for the theme of the story--the battle between reason and illogic against the backdrop of late 17th century/early 18th century witch hunts and trials in both England and the American colonies. The story concerns the struggle of Jenneth Stearne, sister to a witchfinder, who from the moment she watches her beloved aunt Isobel burning at the stake because of her devotion to experimental science rather than superstition, struggles to achieve the overthrow of the Parliamentary Witchcraft Act--through reason. Likewise, Principia relates its 400 year old to-the-death duel with Malleus Mallificorum, the principle book used by witchfinders to identify witches.Jenneth and her family are forced to leave England, her father having been appointed Witchfinder royal for the colony of Massachusetts as a way of removing him from England. But her father is killed and Jenneth captured on an Indian raid. She never loses sight, however, of her vow to overthrow the Witchcraft Act.This leads her into a variety of adventures, including a long-lasting affair with the young Benjamin Franklin. Eventually, in desperation, she arranges to have herself declared a witch and put on trial, hoping in that fashion for a triumph of reason over superstition.i thought the device of using the Principia as narrator was really inventive and quite promising. But the book descended (from my point of view) into a picaresque novel; I don't like that particular style. Still there was enough invention that I kept reading. However, by the time Morrow brings Jenneth and Franklin together, in my opinion, his store of inventiveness ran out. I found that entire section, which takes up a substantial part of the book, boring. Part of the problem was that unless you were told who the speakers were, you would never be able to distinguish between Jenneth and Franklin--Morrow loses what distinctive voices they might have had. Another problem, again, was the picaresque factor. The various adventures of Franklin and Jenneth really did not add much to the book and certainly did not move the plot forward. Also, Morrow lost much of his humor by the middle of the book, which meant that it was heavy going. Even Principia's war with Malleus paled, and seemed too contrived.There are some clever literary devices in the book, such as the way Morrow segues from Jenneth's story to Principia as narrator and philosopher. Those were always interesting. Unfortunately, such devices can not carry a book.There are more interesting novels and plays, including those whose themes are witch trials and rationalist philosophy, than The Last Witchfinder.
    • 4/5
      I picked this book up off the shelf in a store by chance - it had an interesting cover. Actually that's how I get books quite often - the interesting cover grabs me and then I have decent look at the story. This was set back in the times when witchtrials were still occuring throughout America and Britain and concentrates on a particular young girl named Jennet Stearne. Her father is a Witchfinder as is her brother. She is educated by her aunt - a lover of natural philosophy and science. Unfortunately her aunt gets the wrong end of the Witchfinders needle and it all goes downhill from there. Jennet spends her life trying to refute the idea of witches using science and nature and gets the assistance of a varied group of people including a young Benjamin Franklin. The most endearing thing about this book was that it was told from the point of view of a book - the Principia Mathmatica by Issac Newton to be precise. The book tells the story of Jennet which every now and then going into bizarre tangents about it's own battles with other books and the like. It also informs us that some of the most well known books of our time were actually written by other books, not by the authors we think....it's slighly kooky which I why I think I enjoyed it so much.
    • 2/5
      I like historical fiction, but I'm not so keen on fantasy, so this might not have been a good choice on my part.I could barely be bothered finishing it. There was a certain point (the shipwreck) where I really thought the storyline had done the equivalent of "jumping the shark". It was just too fanciful for me.I also felt that it was so densely written, and in fake old English (by definition, since it was written this decade) that it became laborious to read. I seem to be in the minority though!
    • 5/5
      'Steeth what a great book! A truly admirable heroine, a brilliantly re-written history and the cherry on the cake for me was the wise-cracking Principia Mathematica. I agree with the previous review about the laugh out loud moments - a fantastic read.