Witchborn


By Nicholas Bowling
Published by Chicken House
13 yrs and upwards



I was excited to discover this YA novel as it is set in Tudor London with witch hunts, an asylum escape, Queen Elizabeth AND Mary Queen of Scots... not to mention it has a beautiful cover! 

The story centres around orphaned Alyce, who is trying to find help from John Dee of Queen Elizabeth's court whilst being on the run from grim witch hunters and a ghostly Mary Queen of Scots. She picks up a companion, Solomon, along the way and is mysteriously followed by a raven wherever she goes...

This YA novel is full of intrigue, surprise and imaginative descriptions of old London. The biggest surprise early on is that *Spoiler Alert* Queen Mary Stuart is a witch! I immediately thought of 'Antickes and Frets' by Susanna Clarke who has Mary cleverly perform subtle magic through her embroidery, but Bowling's Mary wants to conquer all using use dark magic and therefore is more of a 'villain' Queen in this story which I didn't like. However, this concept does make for an innovative and original narrative to the Elizabeth and Mary rivalry which is entertaining. 

So then how are Queen Elizabeth, Alyce and the raven connected to Witch Queen Mary, and to each other? You'll have to read to find out...

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