Newcastle Witch Trials

A fictional account of the women who were persecuted as witches and the witchfinders who condemned them in seventeenth-century England.

Based on true events in the north east of England, the Newcastle Witch Trials trilogy tells the story of three women's struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world. Inspired by the little-known Newcastle witch trials, where fifteen women and one man were hanged for witchcraft on a single day in August 1650.

Book 1: Widdershins

Jane Chandler is an apprentice healer. From childhood, she and her mother have used herbs to cure the sick. But Jane will soon learn that her sheltered life in a small village is not safe from the troubles of the wider world. From his father's beatings to his uncle's raging sermons, John Sharpe is beset by bad fortune. Fighting through personal tragedy, he finds his purpose: to become a witchfinder and save innocents from the scourge of witchcraft.

Book 2: Sunwise

Jane’s lover, Tom returns from the navy to find her unhappily married to his betrayer and Jane is caught in an impossible situation. Still reeling from the loss of her mother at the hands of the Scottish witchfinder, Jane has no choice but to continue her dangerous work as a healer while keeping her young daughter safe. But as Tom seeks a way for him and Jane to be together, the witchfinder is still at large. Filled with vengeance, John Sharpe will stop at nothing in his quest to rid Scotland and England of the scourge of witchcraft.

Book 3: Solstice

When a new vicar arrives to take over the parish of Mutton Clog, the village finds itself in the grip of puritan fever, and suspicious eyes are turned on Rose Driver. Rose’s mother, brother and grandmother were all put to death by the Scottish witchfinder, John Sharpe. Almost quarter of a century after the Newcastle witch trials, Sharpe is no longer a threat so Rose should be safe in her quiet village. But is history about to repeat itself? Find out in Solstice, the powerful conclusion to the Newcastle Witch Trials trilogy.

The Newcastle Witch Trials trilogy contains one copy each of Widdershins (2017), Sunwise (2019) and Solstice (2023).