I’ve now followed this trilogy since the first book so was especially excited to be asked to take part in this blog tour to celebrate the final book in the Widdershins series and return to the seventeenth century world which this talented author recreates so beautifully. England in 1673 was still a country which teemed with suspicion and the danger to those women who were suspected of witchcraft hadn’t gone away. In rural communities where lives were very much caught up in the mysteries of nature some of their more commonplace practices could be seen, by outsiders, as more macabre than they actually were. Moving to Mutton Clog, in the north of England, with her twin brother Earnest, and clergyman father, Patience Leaton is very much an outsider who neither knows nor cares enough to understand the community in which she is forced to live. This is unfortunate for Rose Driver, a young and rather beautiful shepherdess, who catches the eye of Earnest Leaton, and in doing so antagonises the staunchly puritan, Patience with dire consequences. In two very distinctive voices both Rose and Patience have a story to tell which, very quickly unravels, becoming darker and more dangerous especially when Patience discovers something about Rose and Earnest which unleashes the very worst behaviour imaginable. Rose’s character I loved from the beginning, and her fate becomes all the more poignant as the story progresses. Patience definitely tried my patience, she really is a piece of work and all credit to the author for allowing the darkness in Patience’s soul to evolve with such evil precision. The dark and dangerous mid-seventeenth century rural world is beautifully recreated by an author who really does bring history alive. With every well placed word, and descriptive phrase, it is possible to step back in time to the rural backwater of Mutton Clog, where superstitious practices have been in place for centuries however, when viewed by the wrong person, at the wrong time, these practices can be entirely misinterpreted as having the dark forces of evil at their core. With its abiding air of sadness and a definite sense of the injustice towards those innocent of any wrongdoing Solstice is an excellent conclusion to this fascinating trilogy. This will definitely be on my book of the year list for 2023.

Although presented as a standalone novel, Helen Steadman’s Solstice brings with it strong elements of the two volumes which preceded it in her Widdershins Trilogy, Widdershins and Sunwise. When the Rev Leaton and his family are unwillingly forced, by allegations involving witchcraft, to relocate from comfortable Ely to Mutton Clog, a bleak and remote parish in Durham, the troubles which brought about this transfer soon escalate. What follows is a scenario that seethes with menace and with a sustained degree of malevolence that exceeds anything I have ever before encountered. The central characters (barely less than evil and seldom more than innocently foolish) struggle under the cloud of witchcraft accusations and suffer bleak conditions, drawing misfortune and disasters upon themselves, each other and all those who become involved with them. Rose, a local girl, and Patience, daughter of the incoming incumbent, carry the two central and robust storylines. While Rose, innocent but foolish, falls victim to her own poor judgement, Patience, a flawed and unremittingly cruel character, accuses her of witchcraft and sets about destroying her, subjecting her to treatment which, at times, she seems unlikely to survive. As incidents reveal the tarnished and destructive histories of locals and incomers alike, the writer draws her characters, half-starved and shivering, through their miserable storylines and delivers them, beaten but in some cases unbowed, to their various resolutions. There is well managed tension by now, which eventually delivers a compelling courtroom denouement. Helen Steadman is mistress of her subject here and fluently incorporates her impressive knowledge of the situations she describes. In Solstice she has created a vivid and disturbing world and peopled it with worryingly memorable characters. This is a compelling “not to be missed” novel.

The Leaton Family are moving parish. Solstice might have the persecution of witches at the heart of the narrative, but Helen Steadman’s story-telling is bewitching in its own right. From the very first page it is as if the reader is being addressed directly, by their own personal storyteller, with the effect that it is impossible not to be drawn in instantly. The tone is perfect for the era so that every aspect of Solstice feels authentic and beautifully crafted. I thought it was wonderful. The plot is fast paced, riveting and compelling. Whilst Solstice is the third book in a trilogy, it can be read as a stand alone story with no prior knowledge of the other books, because Helen Steadman weaves in any knowledge needed with such skill. It’s six years since I read Widdershins, but several hundred books read later, Solstice not only brought that earlier book flooding back, but was written in such a way that it is totally accessible, understandable and mesmerising, independently of anything else. I thought this quality of story telling was magnificent. The characterisation is superb. By the time I was 50 pages into the story I was ready to climb into the pages and give Patience a violent and thorough shaking. She made my blood boil! Indeed, I’d defy anyone not to be thoroughly enraged by the injustice displayed by those supposedly superior in status to others. Steeped in history, Solstice is also a book about people, about unselfish love, family, betrayal and spite so that the characters become completely convincing. Indeed, considering Patience and her strong narrative voice I had to question whether my hatred of her was fair or whether she simply wasn’t in her right mind. Helen Steadman might entertain brilliantly, but she causes her readers to think too. In contrast to my abhorrence of Patience, I adored Rose. She is by no means perfect, but she has a strength and integrity that I admired without reservation. What comes across so vividly through Rose is the ease with which an individual can be vilified and persecuted, but also how resilient we can be in the face of adversity. Solstice is historical fiction of the very best kind, being assiduously researched and accessibly presented, but the treatment of, and by, characters has resonance in today’s world of trial by social media. I found this element of the story so important and convincing. Solstice is one of those stories that gets under the reader’s skin. I thought about the people of Mutton Clog when I wasn’t reading about them. I pondered themes of religion, superstition, and family and I was totally immersed in history. In case you haven’t realised, I thought Solstice was brilliant. Don’t let this series pass you by.