Veronica has to learn everything from scratch, with barely any help and has the most arduous task of any Orchiére woman before her. She is without her mother and barely knows about her Orchiére lineage at all. Swearing it away in favour of love.įinally, Veronica takes over.

There’s a wonderful tension in their relationship which was heartbreaking to read. Morwen is the complete opposite to Irené. Then Morwen, her daughter, becomes our next Orchiére. (Spoiler) Irené gets exactly what she wants! Until now any reference to the craft, ritual and spell casting, was more religious than witchy. She’s the first Orchiére witch to actually use her power. Irené doesn’t want to work, she wishes to be a lady. We’re in Wales and filled with discontent for farm life. And she is forced away from Cornwall, her farm and everything she once knew.Īfter a fairly large skip forward in time, Irené takes over. It is the pressure to continue the Orchiére family line that disrupts her life. She settles into farm life and falls in love. She cares less of the opinion of those around her.

Then Ursule, Nanette’s daughter, becomes the focus of the story. Maybe because she hasn’t been stifled by the fear of being discovered by their Cornish (and very Christian) neighbours? Though surrounded by other Orchiére women, she is the only one with the true gift of witchcraft. It begins with Nanette, the granddaughter of a powerful witch. PlotĪs a multi-generational novel, this book follows five Orchiére women. It’s main themes are coming of age, motherhood, love and choices. We follow each witch in their discovery of the craft, the ways in which they fight oppression, and how they choose to keep their family line alive. (Click here to read more: )Īnyway, on to the book review! At First GlanceĪ Secret History of Witches is exactly what the title suggests, which is refreshing… So, I would shelve it under fantasy/historical fantasy.Ī Secret History of Witches chronicles five generations of the Then like so many of my books, it found its place on my encumbered shelves and there it stayed. After waiting for it to appear in paperback I picked it up. I saw this book sometime two Octobers ago with witchiness and spookiness at the front of my thoughts. Book Review: A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan.

A secret history of witches