The Coven of Otley Drive

'There's no easy way to say this Stella... We are witches.'In the early days of WW2, Stella inherits a house and herbalist shop in Yorkshire from her down-to-earth yet enigmatic aunt. As the threat of Nazi invasion increases, Stella finds her new home is a satellite in a network of magical working lodges across the country, their base being the mother lodge in Bayswater, under the leadership of an arch priestess and adept of the mysteries. The aim is to protect the blessed isles with magic; from high angelic forms to the old guardians of the land. These include the mythic hero Robin Hood, and the green gods of the woods, who are but masks of the oldest territorial guardians of Blighty. By necessity, Stella is fast-tracked in her magical initiation, against a backdrop of the Blitz. As the bombs drop, espionage and enemies of the state abound. The Lodges, who the War Office keep an eye on, are one step ahead of the game.Judith Page and Paul Newman skillfully entwine, as do their protagonists, the correspondences of high esoteric wisdom with paganism, mediumship, witchcraft and myth to form a cohesive and vibrant defense of the realm in that very real other Battle of Britain – the magical one.

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