It is an exquisite tapestry though and the cover (of the proof at least) reflects the artistry of this craft and, of the tangled web of the story that is woven so beautifully within.

Its influence in Vardo is best seen in the story of a learned couple from the south of Norway, Ambrosius Rhodius and Anne Friedrichsdatter Rhodius, who were imprisoned at Vardohus in 1662. Now resident in Edinburgh, Anya graduated with distinction from the Creative Writing programme at Edinburgh Napier University. When the court asked her which people she had seen there, she gave the names of five women, among them Ingeborg Krog from Makkaur, who she said had followed her to Hell in the shape of a dove.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing and has the ability to suspend disbelief for the duration of the book. He opposed public opinion, magistrates and bailiffs, and eventually destroyed the legal basis for burning accused witches. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

Anya Bergman said: ‘I am thrilled to have found the perfect home for The Witches of Vardø at Manilla Press with Kate (Parkin), Margaret (Stead), and Justine (Taylor). The switch between the chapters between Ingeborg and Anna gave an interesting different perspective to the story - both their history and life within the fortress.Shortly after her arrival, Zigri Sigvaldsdatter is thrown into the witches’ hole in the prison courtyard, along with two others, including Zigri’s cousin. Inside is a timber walkway, 328 feet long by five feet wide, with 91 randomly placed small windows that each contain a single lightbulb in memorial of those executed for witchcraft. During the witchcraft trials in Finnmark in northern Norway, during the seventeenth century, 135 persons were tried, 91 of whom were executed, most of them at the stake.

People thought that those in Vardo were more inclined to be witches, almost like it was natural for them.The nearby mountain Domen, where many of the accused witches were said to have met, is now home to a shelter to rest and enjoy the ocean view. At Christmas 1662, children were accused when sisters Ingeborg Iversdatter and Karen Iversdatter (8 years old), children of one of the newly executed women, were brought in for questioning with Maren Olsdatter, the niece of one of the executed women. I remember being very hungry at one point but not wanting to leave my reading spot to go and get food.

A great majority of the male population was out at sea at that time and were surprised by the storm, which sank ten boats and drowned forty men. While some locations are well-known for this history, one part of Northern Norway remained off the radar of many people. When Zigri, desperate and grieving after the loss of her husband and son, embarks on an affair with the local merchant, it's not long before she is sent to the fortress at Vardø, to be tried and condemned as a witch.Anya Bergman doesn’t shy away from the horror of the witch trials and some of the descriptions of what these women endured were graphic and detailed.