The Village Healer's Book of Cures

In seventeenth-century England, a female healer enflames the fury of a witchfinder in this propulsive novel about murder, revenge, and the dangerous power of knowledge.Mary Fawcett refines the healing recipes she’s inherited from generations of women before her—an uncanny and moral calling to empathize with the sick. When witchfinder Matthew Hopkins arrives in her small village, stoking the fires of hate, he sees not healing but the devil at work. Mary’s benevolent skills have now cast her and her young brother under suspicion of witchery.Soon, the husband of one of Mary’s patients is found murdered, his body carved with strange symbols. For Hopkins, it’s further evidence of dark arts. When the whispering village turns against her, Mary dares to trust a stranger: an enigmatic alchemist, scarred body and soul, who knows the dead man’s secrets.As Hopkins’s fervor escalates, Mary must outsmart the devil himself to save her life and the lives of those she loves. Unfolding the true potential of her gifts could make Mary a more empowered adversary than a witchfinder ever feared.

Booklist

“This historical-fiction novel set in 1640s England showcases the hysteria that can grip a small village, causing people to turn on their own neighbors and friends. It's an emotional story, full of flawed characters who are just trying to survive in a world full of suspicion and betrayal.”

Historical Novels Review

“The multiple plot threads keep tensions high, the plot twists will keep readers guessing, and the characters (both good and ill-intentioned) are nuanced and well-written. All this, along with its immersive historical details and a sprinkle of fantasy, have conjured up an entrancing read.”

Paulette Kennedy, author of The Witch of Tin Mountain

“A stunning achievement in historical fiction. The Village Healer’s Book of Cures is by turns a work of luminous beauty and a harrowingly dark exploration of the perilous role cunning women played in a society rife with suspicion. Mary Fawcett is an unforgettable heroine, and Roberts’s nimble prose enchants with its honesty. An exquisite, wise, and ambitious debut.”

a strong, independent woman trapped in a gender-centric panic

“A firecracker of a debut, packed with well-researched historical details, a tense mystery, and a few twists I never saw coming. Mary

Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Orchid Hour

“In this exciting debut, I discovered a character who is now one of my favorite heroines…a suspenseful read with characters to root for, an intriguing mystery to solve, and well rendered historical atmosphere to savor.”

From the Publisher

When I was young, my family would joke that, had I been born in an earlier century, I certainly would have been burned at the stake. Part of the reason was my red hair, but part was also that I wanted to know everything—I was curious and loud and not great with rules. The fact is, throughout history, women have been persecuted for such things, losing their good names and even their lives for the audacity of being different. This is the truth at the heart of The Village Healer’s Book of Cures, a book that explores the passed-down wisdom of women and how, in too many times and in too many places, a woman with knowledge is seen as dangerous. It’s 1646, and Mary Fawcett is a healer in her small English village of Bicknacre. Widowed and raising her young brother, she’s respected throughout the county for her medicinal knowledge of plants—that is, until self-styled witchfinder Matthew Hopkins arrives, determined to root out evil. For him, evil is a woman who knows too much. To protect herself and her brother, Mary needs to reveal the truth behind her village’s happenings in any way she can. While this is a work of fiction, it’s based on real seventeenth-century events—but the fear of a powerful woman isn’t just historical. Relentlessly entertaining and thought-provoking, The Village Healer’s Book of Cures reminds readers there will always be those afraid of women’s strength, and so there must always be those prepared to speak up. If that makes me a witch, bring on the fire. —Erin Adair-Hodges, Editor

About the Author

Jennifer Sherman Roberts holds a PhD in Renaissance literature from the University of Minnesota. She became interested in early modern recipes and recipe books as she researched the medicinal properties of folk cures. She has written about early modern recipes on the academic blog The Recipes Project, and she has worked with Oregon Humanities facilitating conversation projects about the historical roots and cultural implications of the recipe genre. She is also a fierce library advocate, occasional knitter, and aspiring mead maker who lives in southern Oregon, where the mountains are tall, the lakes crystal clear, and the beer hoppy. For more information, visit www.jenshermanroberts.com.

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