Beautifully atmospheric and intricate tale. It was exquisitely narrated, even though it was a tough read at times, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to read more from Anya Bergman.

This is a dramatic and emotional story dominated by strong female characters.
I loved the folklore, myths and legends and the way the story was built around old traditions and superstitions. I enjoyed the way it explored ancient beliefs and customs native to the region in which the story is set, particularly those of the Sami.
The story was a little slow but the journey was interesting, detailed in the way of life of the villagers and Anna's thoughts and reflections on her own life and the build up of circumstances leading to her imprisonment. Ingeborg's doomed rescue attempt led to a harrowing experience on the island of Vardo, the story telling pulling no punches in describing the horrors of the witches' hole. The influence of religion, superstition and prejudice was frightening as the story drew to its conclusion. It was strangely addictive to listen to, as tension mounted slowly but inevitably, a few brief interludes offering scant hope. It was difficult to warm to any of the women despite their predicaments and most if not all male characters are depicted as abusers of women in one way or another. The last part was quite long and drawn out and overburdened with suffering which was not pleasant to listen to although maybe justified by the truth behind the fiction as revealed in the afterword.
The narration was very clear and precise. It might have helped to have had a different voice for Anna to add some variation in tone and distinguish her from the other women. The emotions of the characters were skilfully captured adding to the impact of their troubles.
Not an easy story but redolent of the time and well told.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

ooof not for me at all

The writing style just hasn't seemed to do it and the narrator sounds bored
I will hopefully come back to it later- maybe I was not in the right head space

The Witches of Vardø is a gorgeous book.

Set in Norway in 1662 it tells the story of multiple women.

First there's Zigri, who after an affair with a merchant gets accused of being a witch and sent to the fortress at Vardø to be condemned.
Her daughter Ingeborg embarks on a journey to save her, accompanied by Maren, who herself is the daughter of a witch.
And last there is Anna, formerly the mistress of the King of Denmark, who is also a captive in the fortress and who has her own goals.

I loved the writing style and I loved the way the women were written. Each of them have a distinct personality and agenda.

I highly recommend reading this book.

a great book. i found it quite slow-paced (perhaps because of the gentle cadence of the narrator, which made for nice listening). sometimes a little overwritten, but i think that is in part due to anna's characterisation - she's very dramatic! generally the characters feel quite dimensional, if sometimes falling into tropes in the case of a few side characters (like maren and kristen). these are minor nitpicks, though.

intriguing to hear a witch story from the perspective of innocent women who are not & do not identify at all with witchcraft, and in fact are just as scared of it. plays with the power of fear and its ability to condemn

Wow what a debut. Beautiful, emotional, haunting, powerful. This is as finely crafted a debut as I've had the pleasure to read in quite some time. The prose is immaculate, the pacing is perfectly balanced, and the characters are allowed time to breathe, to grow, to become the truest version of themselves. Nothing here is rushed, and it makes it all the more impactful for it.

This is a tale based on true events, with characters drawn from real people, and you can really feel it. It isn't a story for the faint of heart. It asks some harsh questions as it invites you to take a deeper look at these historic events, and to experience them for yourself. You'll sit in the dark, rancid squalor of the cells, you'll feel the cruelty and the torment, the pain of betrayal, of mistrust, of men's want of power and using any and every means to get it. Believe me you'll ache for these women, feel the pure brutality of their treatment, and you'll feel angry, so very angry.

The horrors of the witch trials are not shied away from. They are presented to you in a very real, very tangible way. You'll need a strong stomach, you'll want to turn away, to not see these events unfold; but it is your duty to these women to bear witness, to know their truth, and to always remember.

But along with such harsh brutality there is also a great deal of love, kindness, strength and loyalty to be found among these pages. It's a truly beautiful and magical read.

What a book to start the new year. This one will stay with me for a long time to come.

Set in the 1660’s, Anya Bergman weaves an epic tale of poverty, prejudice and oppression in the bitter climate of Northernmost Norway. Based on real characters and events, this story illustrates the exile, torture and maltreatment of women accused of witchcraft at the time.



The tale is told from dual perspectives; firstly that of Fru Anna Rhodius, a women of medicine and herbology, as she diarises her life in letters to her past lover and now captor King Fredrik.of Finnmark.


Secondly Ingeborg, a young woman from a fishing family, daughter of Zigri and elder sister of Kirsten. Ingeborg tries to her utmost provide for her family and keep them safe from harm with the help of her strong and devoted cousin Marin.

These women’s stories become enmeshed as they fail to be confined by the expectations of society, and are deemed to be witches by the men in power.


I found this book a little hard to follow at first due to the dual viewpoints and working out the family dynamics, but once I got into the rhythm of the book and the stories began to converge I really became invested in the characters, however flawed they may be.



The narrator is excellent and conveys the dark and atmospheric mood of the writing very well giving a great performance.

Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. I had a hunch that I would like this audiobook before listening to it and I wasn't let down this is an amazing albeit brutal story. I very much enjoyed my listen.

This is a book where I know the DNF because of sheer boredom very much comes from several things that are personal reading quirks.

My major problem is that this book has two characters telling it (Ingeborg and Anna) who don't interact at all until about 50%, and their stories don't overlap or even engage in any way until 40%. Which means I pick one I care about and the other feels surplus to requirements.

This is not helped by the fact that Anna does literally nothing for most of the book. She arrives on the island, doesn't like her accommodations, and then has spent most of the rest of the first half reminiscing in these letters she's writing (presumably in her head as she has no ink?) to the king about their time together and how loyal she is. She adds absolutely nothing to the plot, failing to move it forward most of the time, and is just there obsessed with someone we don't see on page. This all means I could not care less about her and just want to skip her chapters.

Which is a problem because I think I might have really enjoyed Ingeborg's chapters, the portrait of a family destroyed by loss and spite, and then a daughter's journey to free her mother (or maybe she fails, I don't know, didn't get that far) but Anna annoyed me so much and I was just dragging myself through listening that I decided it was time to give up and move on.

A big thank-you to Anya Bergman, Bonnier UK Audio, and NetGalley for an advance audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
Set in Norway in the 1660s, the novel focuses on little regard and respect females received in those days and on how easy it was to be persecuted for being a so-called witch.
Very atmospheric, character-driven with perfect research into the period, this audiobook makes a terrific read that will not leave any reader indifferent.

Whilst this book is women's historical fiction, it is based on actual people and events from the 1600's; and as a woman reading of these events, I found myself whipped up with righteous indignation at the unscrupulous treatment of women in the 1600's during the witch hunts and trials. The men characters are particularly disgusting, although none of the women characters are particularly likeable either (with the exception of Maren), but you can empathise with the women's plight nonetheless.

The first 30% of the story is predominantly background on the characters before they come together, so it feels a little slow, but around the halfway mark I became fully engrossed to the end. The inclusion of various folk tales is a surprisingly nice touch and since I had the audio version, I would also comment that the narrator has been particularly well chosen, since her pronunciation of the names and places is spot on.

Overall, this is a emotive story which is uncomfortable and sad to read at times - it is a story which needs to be told however, as a commemoration and reminder of the women who suffered at the hands of religious zealots in the 1600's - so thanks to NetGallery and Bonnier UK Audio for sending me the audio ARC - I won't say the story was enjoyable per se, but it was uncomfortably interesting and for the most part compelling.

My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Audio Manilla Press for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Witches of Vardø’ by Anya Bergman. The audiobook is narrated by Sofia Engstrand.

This powerful work of historical fiction draws on the records of the witch trials in 17th Century Norway, focusing on the lives of a number of women caught up in these events.

Norway, 1662. This is a dangerous time to be a woman, especially one who steps outside the prescribed roles of wife and mother. Even dancing can lead to lurid accusations of witchcraft.

Recently widowed Zigri Sigvaldsdatter is sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried as a witch when her affair with a local merchant is discovered. Her daughter Ingeborg sets off into the wilderness to seek a way to bring her mother home. She is accompanied by Maren, herself the daughter of a condemned witch. Maren has a wild, unconquerable spirit and gives Ingeborg the courage to venture into the unknown and to risk all she has to save her family.

Anna Rhodius was once the King of Denmark's mistress and has been sent into exile on the island of Vardø. She is gifted in healing and the creation of potions. More than anything Anna wants to return to her privileged life at court; yet who will she be willing to betray to achieve this end? While of a higher social class to the other women she remains vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft.

Are the Witches of Vardø victims of the injustices of their age or do they possess powers that can set them free? Some of the accusations made against the women were so bizarre, clearly the product of fevered imaginations.

I found Bergman’s writing atmospheric and beautiful. Her chapters alternate between the perspectives of Anna and Ingeborg. I especially enjoyed the incorporation of various folktales into the narrative including those of the Sámi people. The visionary transformation of the witches into birds was very evocative and reminded me of the portrayal in Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ of the northern witches, who were also gifted with weather magic.

Following the main text in ‘On Fact and Fiction’, Anya Bergman shares details of the events on Vardø during 1662-3 and commemorates the names of the twenty women who died during those years as well as those who were acquitted. She also mentions the Steilneset Memorial completed in 2011 that honours all those who died during the witch trials. For those who wish to delve deeper she provides a number of nonfiction sources as well as an informative glossary.

With respect to the audiobook, Sofia Engstrand is a British-Swedish actor who was perfectly suited as the narrator for this novel. I have enjoyed her reading of a few audiobooks and her voice is exquisite and a pleasure to listen to.

Overall, ‘The Witches of Vardø’ is an incredible debut and a superb example of literary historical fiction. It is extremely engaging and meticulously researched. I had a real sense of the deep connection that Anya Bergman felt to her subject.

Highly recommended.

What starts off as a story about the life of a child in a fishing community, soon turns into a seemingly hopeless struggle for their lives. It’s dangerous to be a woman in the 1600’s. Dancing, laughing, drinking - all of these simple, everyday things can result in an accusation of witchcraft. Funnily enough, if a man does them, that’s ok (I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the injustice of it all!).
The young girls are the ones that hold the story together. They are the link between the accused women (their mothers, aunt and another villager) and the King’s prisoner, Anna. Anna is trusted to ‘care’ for the witches whilst they’re held in the Witches hold - a thoroughly inhumane incarceration. She’s a woman with an education, so I expected for her to treated a lot worse than she was.
There’s a great mix of history and magic in this, although done in such a way as the magic didn’t seem out of place - and fitted in perfectly with the rest of the book. It was interesting to learn about the way the Sámi were regarded by the rest of Finn-mark (I’m unsure of the spelling!) - even though it wasn’t good (they weren’t Christians, and therefore dangerous).
It was a really engrossing read - I loved it.

The characters are so well written that even though the story is set centuries ago you can feel yourself relating to them and understanding

Reading about witch hunts and trails is something that has become a passion for me over the last few years as I try to understand what happened and why and how we can learn from these terrible events. The Witches of Vardo has been a valuable addition to this and it was clear that the author had done painstaking research.

I found listening to the audiobook was very helpful as I would have struggled to know how to pronounce many of the name and places in the book. The narrator for this title was excellent and made listening to the book enjoyable.

A new addition to the realm of witchy reads, this is an atmospheric read with sweeping snowy landscapes, wild seascapes & a dark, dank witch hole which really chill the reader.

Told from two viewpoints: Ingeborg tells the story of her family, from the loss of her father & brother, through her mother's affair leading to her standing accused of witchcraft & Ingeborg's journey to rescue her from Vardø; and Anna, exiled mistress to the King, confused & alone in Vardø, a captive but a captor, unsure what her future holds & if she'll ever return to the civilisation & splendour of her old life.

These tales are woven together as the cast of women face horror & degradation at the hands of powerful men, but together can they realise their strengths & save themselves or is the fear of men more forceful than the unity of women.

Overall a compelling read, very well narrated (I particularly like hearing how the names & places were pronounced). I did find elements a little repetitive which made the book feel longer than it needed to be, but the story itself was good & I loved that it was based on true events & people.

And the brilliant 2023 reads keep on stacking up! Now I have to be honest, witch trial novels are always a bit hit and miss for me as I can find them so depressing, but this is definitely one of the best I’ve read, with a super satisfying ending that brought a little hope and joy to a sad tale.

Obviously the Norwegian setting with freezing cold temperatures and either super long or super short nights makes for an especially spooky, atmospheric read, but the absolute standout in this novel are the brilliantly realised female characters, and their bravery and love for each other. I especially adored Ingeborg who put herself in danger in order to rescue her mother, despite her many warnings to her which could’ve avoided everything. And Maren was absolutely fantastic, this wild, untameable, fearless woman (witch? 😉) who has an affinity for nature and stands up to the foolish men who try to beat them down.

Did I still get depressed and enraged that there was a time where a man could burn a woman at the stake because she rejected him, humiliated him or did any tiny thing which displeased him? Yes, of course, I huffed and puffed through quite a lot of this. But there was just enough of a question over how magical these women really were to keep me utterly hooked and praying for a ‘tear the men down’ kind of ending. And boy did I LOVE that explosive ending which made all of the misery beforehand so worth it!

An absolutely beautiful, haunting debut and one of the best witchy stories I’ve read 👏

The Witches of Vardo
by Anya Bergman

Pub Date: 5 January 2023
Publisher :
Bonnier UK Audio, Manilla Press
Genre:
#General Fiction (Adult) #Historical Fiction #Women's Fiction


I adore how descriptive this book is.

I listen to this book as audio. The narrator has done a fantastic job of conveying the story. Her voice fits well with this book
. I feel so emotional as we go through each of these chapters. I have been sucked into this world.

Told from two different perspectives, we follow the lives of Anna and Ingeborg as they try to survive in a time when all women are suspected of witchcraft. Of the two women's stories, Ingeborg was the one that attracted me the most. After losing her father and brother, she becomes the glue that holds the family together. Her mother is withdrawn, and her younger sister Kirsten depends on her for survival. Ingeborg showed her tenacity and strength in the face of her enemies. I feel that we all have a little bit of Ingeborg inside of us, waiting for her to unleash. Anna was an attractive woman with an even more interesting background. I loved her herbs and her medical knowledge, and how she helped others through her illness. My heart goes out to her when she goes through her heartbreak—broken for. She soon finds herself in a difficult situation that no one wants.

This story is steeped in history, magic, and family. It examines the complex relationship between mother and daughter and how fellow wives treated each other. Loyalty and solidarity are tested, and female empowerment is at the forefront of this story. I was hooked from the first page and could hardly breathe as I explored this dark and twisted part of the story.

Based on actual events, The Witches of Vardø is heartbreakingly beautiful and perfect for witch fans everywhere.

Thankyou @netgalley @manilla_press and for the amazing Digital ARC

Rating 4/5

Fascinating story! I thought that author painted an excellent picture of 1662!
My heart really felt for Anna and how unkind world was. After losing her father she was the glue that kept family together, her mother was so withdrawn as she still blamed Anna for her sons death.
Story of magic, strained family bonds and bravery.
This is based on true events and a real treat for witchy book fans.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Zaffre UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. This was one of my highly anticipated read of 2023 and it did not disappoint.

Told from two POV we follow the lives of Anna and Ingeborg as they both try to survive during a time where every woman can be suspected of witchcraft. Out of the two women’s stories I felt more drawn to Ingeborg’s. After losing her father and brother she becomes the glue that’s holding her family together. Her mother is withdrawn and her younger sister Kirsten depends on her for survival. Even before the main action of the story started Ingeborg showed her tenacity and strength in the face of adversary, I feel we all have a little of Ingeborg in us, waiting to be unleashed.

Anna was an interesting woman with an even more interesting background. I loved her knowledge of herbs and medicine and how she helped others through their ailments. My heart broke for her when she experienced her own heartbreak and I think it is these events that made her come across as quite cold at times. She soon finds herself in a difficult situation, one no one wishes to be in.

This story is seeped in history, magic and family. It explores the complex relationships between mothers and daughters and how fellow women treated one another. Loyalty and unity are truly tested and female empowerment is at the forefront of this story. I was captivated from the first page and barely came up for air whilst exploring this dark and twisted part of history.

Based on true events The Witches of Vardø is heart wrenchingly beautiful and perfect for the witchy fans out there.

The story is inspired from the real events of 16th Century in Vardo (the easternmost town in Norway). With glimpses of actual history run Ning in parallel with the storyline is this book that will take you in world filled with real atrocities of male dominance.

Though there is no mention of actual magic or witchcraft, the book is narrated from multiple PoVs showcasing how the most ordinary occurance could make into the checklist of being a witch. To name a few: Drinking Alcohol, Dancing, sharp tongue e.t.c. The book was overall quite engaging but it lost me after the first half somewhere with a mixture of different narratives told together. But it got me back towards the end when it started tying the loose ends and something very unexpectedly sad happened 🤫🤐

Personal thought:
I really think that when men have forced physical relations with maidens claiming ' The girl/women lured them into it because they were witches pissed by Devils charms'.... Those men should have been burned on stakes too! It enrages me to read such things and the more I read, I feel the lesser aware I was about the history of this world 🌎🌍


Thankyou @netgalley @manilla_press and for the amazing Digital ARC

Genre: #historicalfiction #womensfiction
Rating: 4/5 ⭐

⚠️ Please read the trigger warnings