Ingeborg sets off to Vardo on a quest to rescue her mother accompanied by wild natured and outspoken Maren (daughter of an accused witch) and friend Zare. There are no witches in our village, Ingeborg, but the Devil does exist. Look into the eyes of our accusers and you will see him there.’ Finally, in this time of climate crisis, witches speak to the relationship between humanity and nature and a reverence for nature. A lot of people identify with being witches because of this spirit and connecting to the rebel within ourselves. Let’s not take this lying down!

On June 23, 2011 Norway's Queen Sonja opened the Steilneset Memorial to the Victims of the Witch Trials in Vardø, a new monument by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor and the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois. It is also hoped that the Steilneset Memorial will draw visitors to a remote and economically depressed region of Norway. The Vardø project is also part of the Norwegian Public Roads administration’s National Tourist Routes program, through which distinctive buildings are being erected to encourage visits to outposts of exceptional natural beauty. So I don't really know how to feel about the ''oh but they were ACTUALLY witches" trope, or "we are the daughters of witches you couldn't burn" - used by modern wiccans or something.

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The Steilneset Memorial, often called the “The Witches’ Memorial”, is a monument to 91 people who were burned as witches during the period of 1600 to 1692 in Vardø. The memorial consists of a building, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, and the “Flammehuset” artwork featuring a sculpture by the Franco–American artist Louise Bourgeois. The witch trials were a European wide phenomenon On 2 September 1662, Dorthe Lauritzdotter [12] [8] [13] was brought in for questioning at the Vardøhus fortress. She had been accused once before, but acquitted, in 1657. Lauritz Braas said that two of his servants, who had recently died, had claimed to be bewitched by her. Four witches led by Dorthe in the shape of a dove, an eagle, a crow and a swan were to have opened their "wind-knots" over the sea to make a boat sink, but the plot supposedly failed because the crew had prayed to God. Dorthe was burned at the stake on 6 November 1662 with two other women, soon followed by another two. An historical fiction inspired by true events and real people, The Witches of Vardo is a beautiful commemoration and brutal reminder about the women who suffered at the hands of religious zealots in the 17th century. I'm not sure what to think of this book. It's well written style-wise, the characters are well constructed... the author's intentions are noble. But I feel conflicted about the ending.

She notes non-fiction reads, The Ruin of All Witches by Malcolm Gaskill and Mona Chollet’s In Defense of Witches, as well as Andrew Sneddon’s upcoming Representing Magic in Modern Ireland: Belief, History, and Culture. Also captive in the fortress is Anna Rhodius, once the King of Denmark's mistress, who has been sent to Vardø in disgrace. What will she do - and who will she betray - to return to her privileged life at court?

Featured Reviews

Guttormsen, Torgrim Sneve; Swensen, Grete (2016-12-05). Heritage, Democracy and the Public: Nordic Approaches. Routledge. ISBN 9781317122319.