Wise Women, Witches and War: New Northern Historical Fiction

Authors Anna Caig and Liz Flanagan will present their new historical novels set in the seventeenth century. Both are exciting, immersive novels that centre on the challenges faced by women of the 1600s.

Anna’s novel The Wise Witch of Orkney follows a wise woman with an impossible mission who is disguised as a lady-in-waiting at the court of the witch hunting King James VI.

Liz’s novel When We Were Divided is set in Yorkshire in 1643. It’s about three people living through that turbulent time, divided by civil war, plague and unrest, but who find themselves able to unite through courage, hard-won forgiveness and love.

About the authors:

Anna Caig is obsessed with the hidden voices of women and a compelling underdog story. Luckily, history offers plenty of these. She’s inspired by the glimpses into a woman’s life we get before the historical record moves onto something considered much more important. What was happening in these gaps? Anna grew up in Halifax, now lives in the ‘howling wilderness’ of the Peak District and has worked in marketing for over 20 years. She grew up reading indiscriminately: Agatha Christie, Stephen King and the Brontës happily coexisted in precarious piles on her bedside table. Visit annacaig.co.uk or @AnnaCaig on Instagram for more information.

Liz Flanagan is an award-winning author from Hebden Bridge. When We Were Divided is her first novel for adults. Although her previous books are for children, all her novels combine vivid landscapes and emotional depth with fast-paced, gripping stories. She teaches Creative Writing in many different settings, and previously worked as a book editor and as Centre Director for Arvon at Ted Hughes’s former home, Lumb Bank. See lizflanagan.co.uk /@lizziebooks17 on Instagram for more information.