A Hint of Witchcraft [Hardcover]

Anna Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2000

Strange things have been brewing in the village of Ashlaw in 1923: the once-prosperous drapers' shop has gone bankrupt and three separate families' lives have each, it seems, been hexed. In a bigger town such news might happen every day, but in tiny, remote Ashlaw, even one of these curses can set the whole village off-kilter.

So what could be responsible for the stir? Margot, a local, precocious schoolgirl, has been trying to figure this out, especially since hers was one of the three ill-fated families. She comes to a strange conclusion-each of these curses somehow involves one Linden Grey, the most intriguing woman Margot has ever met. She determines to understand, once and for all, Linden's identity and her preternatural, even deadly, powers. But in her search, is Margot willing to hand over her childish innocence?

With eerie suspense and clever turns of plot, Anna Gilbert bewitches believers and non-believers alike in this chronicle of a village's encounter with the other-worldly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Perhaps every tragedy has its roots in some little act," considers Margot Humbert, the heroine of Gilbert's (The Wedding Guest) twisty and suspenseful gothic tale with a mystery in the middle of its marriage plot. In 1923, many in the rural English village of Ashlaw have not yet recovered from the ravages of WWI. Linden Grey and her mother, a war widow, suffer "straitened circumstances" and are eager to develop their friendship with the relatively prosperous Humberts, whose soon-to-be marriageable son, Alex, is Linden's age. Alex quickly becomes "spellbound" by the enchanting Linden, but his sister, Margot, begins to realize that Linden's cool perfection and beauty mask an empty soul and a "squalid self-interest." When a simple-minded village girl falls to her death down an abandoned mineshaft after being accused of stealing a strand of imitation pearls, Margot is sure that Linden is involved and lying about it. The girl's death triggers a series of events that devastate Margot's family and cause Alex to leave for Africa, prompting Linden to seek an attachment to another promising and propertied young man. Linden's new prospect happens to be Margot's devoted but undeclared lover, whom Linden successfully manipulates away from her rival. Gilbert's characters are richly drawn: cold Linden; her na?ve suitors; Margot, who wonders if Linden is an "instrument of evil like the witches of old, through no choice of their own"; and a classically gothic, slightly mad serving woman who wants to destroy the haughty Linden and who holds the key to the mystery of the missing pearls in this taut, suspenseful tale. (Aug.) FYI: Gilbert's most recent novel, The Treachery of Time, won Britain's Catherine Cookson Award for fiction.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Forget the eye of newt and cauldrons bubbling; Gilbert's latest novel is not about the occult, but about being caught under the spell of someone mysterious. Young Margot Humbert is taken with the beautiful and enigmatic Linden Grey, who has recently come to town. Margot's brother, Alex, is also bewitched by Linden and falls hopelessly and obsessively in love with her. However, when a string of beads goes missing, little Katie Judd is blamed and her body is found later in an abandoned coal mine. Margot, distraught over Katie's tragic death, digs deep into the mystery of the stolen beads, only to find Linden, with her pristine manners and polite responses, to be manipulative, deceitful, and the prime suspect. Margot must decide whether to tell Alex what little she knows. What is the truth, who is lying, and who is keeping secrets are slowly revealed in a well-crafted, suspenseful story, set in the early 1920s. Gilbert uses a little Gothic drama, a touch of Dickinsonian coincidence, and clever plot twists to create a wonderful mystery with just a hint of witchcraft. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (August 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312199848
• ISBN-13: 978-0312199845
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,648,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, July 15, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Hint of Witchcraft (Hardcover)

By April 1923, the ravishes of the great war is still impacting people throughout England. In Ashlaw, Captain Gray's widow and his daughter Linden strive to simply survive. The two female Grays turn to the wealthy Humbert family as a means of subsistence with Linden making a point to charm Alex.

Linden easily captures Alex's heart and soul, leaving her sister Margot to wonder why since the amoral chit is not a devastating beauty. When a villager dies in an apparent accident, Margot believes Linden is involved and subsequent events sends Alex scurrying to Africa for solace. Linden seems not in least perturbed by the desertion of her boyfriend as she simply turns to Margot's rich lover as her next conquest.

A HINT OF WITCHCRAFT is an enticing work of historical fiction that brings the post World War I era into vivid display. The story line centers on the interaction between the charcaters with Margot's belief that Linden is an evil witch causing much of the action and reaction. Dark and foreboding, this fabulous tale is an amazing character study that includes a fascinating look at a 1923 English village that will bring much acclaim to Anna Gilbert.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you are looking for witches then go somewhere else, September 24, 2007

By 

M. Long "A Reader" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Hint of Witchcraft (Hardcover)

This book is NOT about your traditional spell casting witch in the black pointed hat. It hints at the witchcraft that subtlety surrounds us, its lies, deceit, omission and just plain not doing anything. This reads more like a Jane Austen Novel. There is no Main climax, rather a few smaller ones that build into the resolution of the Main Characters' (Margot) state of mind. Anyone can have this story by looking back and weaving all the threads together that point to a specific outcome or result.

I really enjoyed this book, the pacing was steady, and the characters were interesting. It had the feel good ending that I know we all hope to achieve.