The Once and Future Witches

De: Alix E. Harrow

Narrado por: Gabra Zackman

In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in this powerful novel of magic, family, and the suffragette movement.

"A gorgeous and thrilling paean to the ferocious power of women. The characters live, bleed, and roar. "―Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author​

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters―James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna―join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote―and perhaps not even to live―the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

An homage to the indomitable power and persistence of women, The Once and Future Witches reimagines stories of revolution, motherhood, and women's suffrage—the lost ways are calling.

Praise for The Once and Future Witches:

"A glorious escape into a world where witchcraft has dwindled to a memory of women's magic, and three wild, sundered sisters hold the key to bring it back...A tale that will sweep you away."―Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author

"This book is an amazing bit of spellcraft and resistance so needed in our times, and a reminder that secret words and ways can never be truly and properly lost, as long as there are tongues to speak them and ears to listen."―P. Djèlí Clark, author The Black God's Drum

A New York Times bestseller • Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR Books • Barnes and Noble • BookPage

For more from Alix E. Harrow, check out The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A gorgeous and thrilling paean to the ferocious power of women. The characters live, bleed, and roar. I adore them, and long for witchcraft to awaken in all of us. Harrow makes it feel possible, and even likely."—Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author

"A glorious escape into a world where witchcraft has dwindled to a memory of women's magic, and three wild, sundered sisters hold the key to bring it back....A tale that will sweep you away."—Yangsze Choo, NYT bestselling author of Night Tiger and The Ghost Bride

"This novel cleverly connects the dots between the suffragist movement of the past to the Me Too movement of today. Compelling, exhilarating, and magical, The Once and Future Witches is a must-read."—Booklist (starred review)

"A radiant masterpiece of pure storytelling magic! Meet the Eastwood Sisters and prepare to take the best book vacation you will have in a long time."—Gwendolyn Womack, USA Today bestselling author of The Fortune Teller

"Drawn from folklore and history, ­Harrow's lyrical prose immerses readers in a story of power and secrets that is not easily ­forgotten."—Library Journal (starred review)

"The magical tale of imperfect heroines, fractured sisterhood, and shadowy undying villains you never knew you needed. Alix Harrow crafts a delightfully bewitching story with familiar but ingeniously recrafted histories and deft worldbuilding as rich as the prose that leaps off the page. This book is an amazing bit of spellcraft and resistance so needed in our times, and a reminder that secret words and ways can never be truly and properly lost, as long as there are tongues to speak them and ears to listen."—P. Djèlí Clark, author The Black God's Drum

"A love letter to folklore and the rebellious women of history."—Publishers Weekly

"This is a delightful, satisfying novel, a tale of women's battle for equality, of fairy tales twisted into wonderfully witchy spells, of magics both large and small, and history re-imagined. All of it is told in Alix Harrow's exquisite language and with her vivid characterizations-a great pleasure to read."—Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches

"A breathtaking book-brilliant and raw and dark and complicated. It's also, to be blunt, uncannily relevant."—Sarah Gailey, author of Magic for Liars

"A brilliant dazzle of a book. This story of sisters and witches, memory and power cracked open my heart and set down roots there. I devoured it in enormous gulps, and utterly loved it."—Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Ghosts

3 Books in 1

I am inspired
I am captivated by a rich and colorful story
I am delighted by the surprizing ending

Absolutely Spellbinding

I couldn’t stop listening from the second I started and finished this book in two days! The history and lore woven together with the experiences of women both present and past left me breathless. I’ll be thinking about this story for a long time to come.

Just fantastic, highly recommend it!

"When men write history, every powerful woman is a witch. And when they curate history, every witch is wicked."

I loved all of this book, and so many technical things worked for me here that haven't elsewhere.

I loved the soft music for the tiny quotes between chapters, that didn't detract from the story or send me running for the volume. These breaks are not my usual preference, but they moved along with the slow, dream-like quality a lot of the book has. (Not all dreams are good).

I loved the dozens and dozens of rhymes, nursery tales, and fables scattered generously throughout the book, many reimagined. I was surprised that I knew them all, even though some of them I haven't heard in decades. I loved the concept of hiding these in plain sight and it really did make me wonder where some did come from. Ring Around the Roses is likely the most famous example of a teaching rhyme whose meaning has faded but is not quite forgotten, and the fact that it ties into the Black Death is scarily chilling when paired with this book.

I loved the worldbuilding and the setting, especially how utterly mundane and benign most magic is seen as. I got Shades of Milk and Honey vibes (by Mary Robinette Kowal). I loved the magic system as we get deeper into the book, as it's simple, but simple doesn't mean easy.

I loved the intersectionality of the book, even though it was hard to read at times. White (Wealthy) Suffrage, Black Abolitionists, America in its days of "Give me your huddled masses who long to breathe free" and the backlash to all of these. Of small children working in deadly conditions for 1/10th what an adult made, of those adults exhausted and dreaming of only 8-hour workdays, of hard lives and harder people exploiting those lives. Of sisterhood and suffering, of the ways small communities come together to support one another, of how trauma and addiction can tear families apart and set victims against each other.

It's a book full of hope, despite the above paragraph sounding more than a little depressing! It's full of wildness and strength and wisdom, full of libraries that are home more than any apartment could be. Of LGTBQ+ love and friendship and no vocabulary for these things or their feelings, but trying anyway.

I loved Aunt Nancy, who might or might not be a spider.

I found it interesting too, that despite all that goes on, the Church does not have anything to do with anything, even though they're a very easy target. Neither is the book full of hatred towards all things men -- just the power imbalances and the savage harms it makes allowable because "He was a good man" and "He was a good neighbour".

I loved the narrator and look forward to finding more books she performs, as well as this new-to-me author!

As I was listening and often busy with my hands, I did notice some of the tense shifts, but they made sense to me. If I had been reading I don't think it would have been as easy to brush off. Even in its more urgent parts, this book is slower and contemplative, and it is already one I know I'm going to listen to over and over. Something about competence and willingness to be vulnerable just gives me all-over feels.

((CONTENT NOTE, POSSIBLE SPOILERS: Child abuse (generally alluded to), violence against women including several torture devices that are made specifically for witches -- and when you're a scared bully, all women are witches -- animal abuse (a dog, birds), sexual harassment but thank goodness no assault which was another possible low-hanging fruit I'm really glad the author passed by (because that fruit is full of worms), no on-page sex, some swears?))

Fascinating, enchanting, and heartbreaking

I loved this story. It held my attention and I did little else but listen to it until it was done. I think I scarfed it up in two days. I'm sorry it's over. I loved the sisters and the world Harrow built for them. It is emotional and detailed and steeped in magic and reality, joy and heartbreak, cruelty and kindness. It swept me away to another world, one of possibilities I would love to be real.

fantastic!!!

I loved every second of this book!! the characters are amazing!! it was easy for me to fallow along and get swept in by the story!!