A Secret History of Witches

An epic journey through five generations of fascinating Orchiéres women spanning more than a century filled with secrets, illicit affairs, sacrifice, jealousy, and witchcraft. The journey begins in 1821 France, the Romani clan fearful after hearing another poor woman burned as a witch. In danger, Grand-mère Ursule directs her family to cross the water to an island far away and begin life anew, then using her last breath hides them from the notice of an angry mob bent on killing. When morning comes, the family prepares to flee leaving behind a freshly made resting place for the great witch that had protected them, saved them, and shared with them their future lay miles away. Leaping forward to 1834, “The Book of Nanette” shares the life, love, and magic of the now young woman who had been devastated to leave her grand-mère behind. She learns the way of her sisters, and after a night with a handsome stranger, she is blessed with a daughter she names Ursule to honor her grand-mère. The lineage continues from Ursule to Irène, from Irène to Morwen, from Morwen to Veronica; each of the women are tied together by their ancestry, their witchcraft, and the crystal that has a power only they can manifest along with individual strengths and talents, desires and dreams, acceptances and denials, and differences that make for an intriguing family history and personal journeys.Brilliantly woven through the lives of five women and the eras in which they lived, Louisa Morgan has provided an extraordinary tale of love, sacrifice, family, and magic. Although the women are all witches, they differ in how they embrace their powers, use it to their advantage, and share it with their daughters. The drama does not focus entirely on the witchcraft element; it is part of the women like a religion, kept from the view of outsiders, secret, but my personal enjoyment came from the fascinating personalities, everyday life related to the era, family interactions, and how they related to those around them. The book is organized into five “The Book of...” focusing on each woman through a third-person narrative. Louisa Morgan’s writing style does well to envelop the reader by illustrating the various settings, environments, and lifestyles through descriptive language as well as the tone and personalities through the expressive dialogue. Entertaining. Engaging. Epic in a way I didn’t want my journey to end. Is anyone listening? Book Two...five more women spanning another century to arrive at today?

A Secret History of Witches falls more into what I would call historical fiction with a touch of magic or maybe historical fantasy than it is straight up fantasy, but regardless of what you want to call it, there's no denying that it's magical and enchanting journey through the ups and downs of five generations of Orchiére witches.The story begins in the year 1821 and continues until just past the end of World War II. It's a lot of time and history to cover, but Morgan managed to write it in a way that allowed it flow naturally. I'll be honest and say that I was slightly skeptical of how five entire generations could be explored in a book under five hundred pages, but I'm really impressed by how Morgan decided to explore the lives of each Orchiére daughter. I worried that there would be a bit of repetition at play and although there were elements throughout the generations that had similar elements and there tended to be patterns you could predict (which was a bit of a drawback at times), there was enough difference within each woman's life to make each snippet feel unique and engaging. It also made it feel almost like a folklore setup where there are similar main story elements, but they differ according to each specific story. At times, it almost felt as though I were reading interconnected novellas or short stories with how we got to experience a certain amount of time with each woman before encountering a momentous moment and moving onto the next, all while keeping the long Orchiére story and tradition alive in each one.The Orchiére women we follow are Nannette, Ursule, Irène, Morwen, and Veronica. I found Morgan development of each woman really strong and well done and I was satisfied by how she managed to make each one's story unique in their own way. There were some that believed the magic from birth, some that were skeptical, some that liked their life, some that hated it--all of the emotions and family struggles that one might expect across five generation were present and made this book such a joy to explore. Of the five women, I would say I most enjoyed Nannette, Morwen, and Veronica's storylines and my least favorite was probably Irène's. Nannette really kicks off the story well with her strong passion for the tradition of her Orchiere witchcraft and understanding of the perils associated with it and Veronica wraps up the story nicely with a great example of her usage of the magic as well. Irene was the hardest for me to get behind (and frankly, I never really did) because of her ungratefulness to her mother and somewhat narcissistic-leaning personality. I appreciated some of her confidence and determination, but it was mixed with too much hatred and selfishness to grab me. I don't know if we were supposed to particularly like Irene or not, so I applaud Morgan for adding such a diverse group of women in this large story.I really love the way that Morgan incorporated the witchcraft and magical elements to this story. The magic that exists is very much in the fashion of the sort of 'traditional' old-fashion witchcraft you might expect from the time periods this story covers. There are 'simple' spells made to help with small things like nausea, colds, sleeping, etc., as well as scrying stones, rituals, familiars, and a few more similar elements.Watching the Orchiére family over give generations was truly exciting and it was so interesting to me to see how attitudes towards the witchcraft of the family differed throughout time. There was so much to explore in this book, from social views towards witchcraft and women to family struggles to struggles of social status and economics and so much, this book really has a little bit of something for everyone.I was really pleasantly surprised by how Morgan wrote a multi-generational story in such a compelling and meaningful way. Definitely pick this one up if you like historical fiction, witches, or stories that explore a lot of family dynamics and lore!

Used book arrived quickly and in excellent condition, with the original book sleeve.I enjoyed the book very much and am already nearly done with the second book in the series.

Love the plot and the characters in the novel. Love the feminine touch and side of it! so many statements in it will definitelty resonate to many women out there. Can’t wait to continue reading the rest of the series!.

Au départ c'est un peu dur à démarrer, ensuite ça devient intéressant mais le dernier chapitre en trop et inutile. Rajouter la reine d'Angleterre dans un récit pareil ça m'a pas fait rêver, ça a tout cassé de la magie du départ.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the slightly unconventional timeline of the story. It follows the same family of witches from 19th century Brittany, to WWII era England, tracking the adversity they faced in preserving their craft and traditions. Thoroughly engaging from start to finish, with well developed, strong female characters that you can't help but be moved by. If you enjoyed 'A Discovery of Witches' by Celia Harkness or Paula Brackston's 'The Winter Witch' then you'll love this. Don't expect wildly dramatic magic, this is a more subtle sort, it is more about the human story and the relationships between the women of the Orchiere line.

I enjoyed this book - it was easy to read with complex, strong characters and plenty to keep me interested.