''The Last Witchfinder'' is a 2006 historical fiction novel by

James Morrow James Morrow (born March 17, 1947) is an American novelist and short-story writer known for filtering large philosophical and theological questions through his satiric sensibility. Most of Morrow's oeuvre has been published as science fiction ...

. The book was first published in hardback on March 14, 2006 through William Morrow and has subsequently been re-published in paperback format. ''The Last Witchfinder'' follows a young girl whose father works as a witch-finder.

Synopsis

Jennet is a young English girl whose witch hunter father is frequently away on

witch hunts A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

. She's left with her aunt Isobel, a fan of Isaac Newton's scientific style. The two become close, but eventually Isobel's viewpoints cause her to become the focus of a witchhunt that ends with her getting burned at the stake. Jennet is unsuccessful in her attempts to rescue her aunt from this grisly fate and as such, decides to fulfill her aunt's dying wish that Jennet bring down the

Witchcraft Acts In England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and the British colonies, there has historically been a succession of Witchcraft Acts governing witchcraft and providing penalties for its practice, or—in later years—rather for pretending to practise ...

Reception

Critical reception for ''The Last Witchfinder'' has been positive, and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' gave the book a favorable starred review. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised the work, and the ''Washington Post'' commented that the work was "so enchanting that when I finished the novel, I sat for a moment wondering when I could visit Jennet's grave in Philadelphia." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' wrote that they enjoyed the work's main character and that "Morrow injects humor and detail, but to enjoy this novel, you need a real appetite for the history of science." The ''Independent'' was more mixed in their review, as they felt that "if only this had been edited down to about half its length, it could have been a cracking picaresque yarn."

Awards

*BSFA Award (2006, nominated) *Locus Fantasy Awards (2007, nominated)

References

External links

Details at Harper Collins
2006 American novels American historical novels Picaresque novels Salem witch trials in fiction {{Salemwitchtrials-stub