Set in seventeenth-century England at the outbreak of Civil War, “The White Witch” brings to life the fields, forests, and homes of rural Oxfordshire. In the manor house, Margaret Haslewood and her twin children wait for news of her husband Robert, who has gone to fight for the cause of Parliament. At the hearth of wise and gentle Froniga, whose skill in healing and clarity of moral vision brings life and vigor to the Romani community, and in the painter s brush of young Francis Leyland, who puts his life in the service of the king, Elizabeth Goudge weaves a tale of enduring insight into what makes us feel at home in the world, and the forces that threaten to tear our homes apart. Expansive and meditative, “The White Witch” explores the costs of zeal and the power of healing when the subtle lines of allegiance that hold village life together are strained and ruptured by national conflict.”
