They Can't Burn Us All

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Iceland, 1655

When a land of ice and fire, legends and sagas is swept into the Protestant Reformation, a witch-hunting craze begins. Unusually, those condemned and burned as witches are not women, but respectable men of learning.

Þuríður Jónsdóttir has grown up praying to the old gods, and watching her father and brother practise rune magic. When the two men are accused of witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake, Þuríður is helpless to save them.

But as Lutheran Pastor Jón Magnússon's accusing gaze turns to Þuríður, he will find that she is a woman prepared to fight back.

In an age of fear and persecution, whose side will the village take? Who will fight for justice?

Set against a backdrop of sweeping religious and social change, this is a story of the most famous witch trial in Iceland – where one woman stands up to the patriarchal forces against her.

© Cathryn Kemp 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026