The Witch's Daughter: A Novel
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An enthralling tale of modern witch Bess Hawksmith, a fiercely independent woman desperate to escape her cursed history who must confront the evil which has haunted her for centuries
My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. If you will listen, I will tell you a tale of witches. A tale of magic and love and loss. A story of how simple ignorance breeds fear, and how deadly that fear can be. Let me tell you what it means to be a witch.
In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate: the Warlock Gideon Masters. Secluded at his cottage, Gideon instructs Bess, awakening formidable powers she didn't know she had. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.
In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life. She has spent the centuries in solitude, moving from place to place, surviving plagues, wars, and the heartbreak that comes with immortality. Her loneliness comes to an abrupt end when she is befriended by a teenage girl called Tegan. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth opens her heart to Tegan and begins teaching her the ways of the Hedge Witch. But will she be able to stand against Gideon—who will stop at nothing to reclaim her soul—in order to protect the girl who has become the daughter she never had?
Praise for The Witch's Daughter
"Brackston's first novel offers well-crafted characters in an absorbing plot and an altogether delicious blend of historical fiction and fantasy." --Booklist
"This pleasantly romantic historical fantasy debut flips lightly between the past experiences of ageless witch Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith and her present-day life in Matravers, England... Bess's adventures are fascinating." --Publishers Weekly
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Community Reviews
Also, Elizabeth is just dumb. She says she's been running from Gideon and changing her name to hide her identity, but she never leaves Britain or actually changes her name in 400 effing years, she only changes her nickname. She is always Elizabeth Hawksmith in every "different identity" she takes on. Also, she always presents herself as a healer of some sort, making finding her for anyone with half a brain even easier!
Also, there are a few seemingly unnecessary and uncomfortable sexual encounters, some of which seem to be completely pointless and awkward.
Oh and also, if Elizabeth is 16 at the beginning of the book and only ages to maturity and then the equation of 5 years every century like the author states, she should look somewhere between 30 and 40 in the current day timeline, not in her 50s like the author also states.
Another inconsistency in the writing i noticed: the present day is presented as sort of diary entries, but then not really bc they slip into dialouge, almost like the author kept forgetting which plot devices she was using. Then also why are the first 2 flashback stories she tells in the 3rd person and the third one in the first person, it's like the author again lost track of any kind of continuity in her writing? Also instead of alluding to any of the mysterious elements, the author spells them out as soon as possible, making it very easy to figure out details that are supposed to be surpurises.
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