The Witches of Vardo
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The Witches of Vardo
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Narrated by:
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Sofia Engstrand
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By:
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Anya Bergman
About this listen
'Three women's fight for survival in a time of madness' Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
Norway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. After recently widowed Zigri's affair with the local merchant is discovered, she is sent to the fortress at Vardø to be tried as a witch.
Zigri's daughter Ingeborg sets off into the wilderness to try to bring her mother back home. Accompanying her on this quest is Maren - herself the daughter of a witch - whose wild nature and unconquerable spirit gives Ingeborg the courage to venture into the unknown, and to risk all she has to save her family.
Also captive in the fortress is Anna Rhodius, once the King of Denmark's mistress, who has been sent in disgrace to the island of Vardø. What will she do - and who will she betray - to return to her privileged life at court?
These Witches of Vardø are stronger than even the King. In an age weighted against them, they refuse to be victims. They will have their justice. All they need do is show their power.
'An intricately woven, timeless novel about prejudice, misogyny, freedom and the power and strength we can find within' - Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo
'A passionate indictment of the patriarchy ... a vibrant exaltation of the resilience of women ... Anya Bergman summons a historic witch trial with breathtaking detail and immediacy' Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites
'Brilliant and powerful. Haunting and beautifully written. A complex and gripping novel reclaiming and retelling the stories of the women accused of witchcraft in Norway. Hugely atmospheric. Read it!' - Liz Hyder, author of The Gifts©2023 Anya Bergman (P)2023 Bonnier Books UK
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Featured article: Witches in fiction: 12 historical fiction books to listen to this Halloween
Throughout history, women have been branded as witches by people scared of their power, confidence and independence. In days past, accusations of being a witch – thrown at women for everything from being talented at working with herbs to being in the vicinity of a death – could result in banishment or even death. These 12 audiobooks, perfect for the longer nights, colder weather and the Halloween season, tell the stories of women through history, from goddesses to regular women, through a mix of horror, fantasy and historical fiction.
What listeners say about The Witches of Vardo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Åse
- 26-04-23
Wanted to stop but couldn’t
What a story. Spellbinding, horrible and sad. Tells of women’s struggles and men’s need to have power over them. Wanted to stop listening at times as it was so horrendous but had to continue at the same time. Loved the narrators beautiful reading. The characters were captured in a real and captivating way,
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-06-24
Beautiful ♥️
This is definitely a book I’m not going to forget and definitely need a physical copy of. It’s so moving and beautiful but also so captivating I couldn’t stop listening. The ending brought me to tears especially when Names were read out ❤️🩹 I cannot recommend this book enough it’s a work of art 💌
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-11-23
Fascinating read
Loved the history and women’s stories. Tragic and also wonderful. Based on real events in Norway.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- B. M. Bugajski
- 25-08-24
Loved it!
I love the stories based on witches trials. This one is well written and moving, I enjoyed the narration from different characters points of view. This story is based on the historical events but also has some magical realism elements which are well combined together.
The audible narration is also very good and it brought the characters to life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mrs s pilgrim
- 13-06-24
Just loved it….
What a fantastic read. Steeped in Sami mysticism whilst shining a light on the Vardo witch trials, I would definitely recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 28-09-24
Based on a real life event
This is the second book I have read or listened to about witch’s and Vardø in northern Norway and have enjoyed both, I might have slightly enjoyed The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave more but both I loved.
There is hopefully a special place in hell, for the men in stories like this and because they are based on real life events so there was men who really believe that these people mainly woman really were witches.
Set in 1662 in Vardø northern Norway (The Mercies are set slightly earlier but also in Vardø). Recently widowed Zigri is distraught after losing her son and then her husband, in her grief she begins an affair. The man’s family accuses her of fornicating with a devil, she is sent to the fortress on Vardø to be tried as a witch. Zigri’s daughter Ingeborg set off to try and find her mother with her friend Maren (herself the daughter of a witch) to bring her back home.
It didn’t take much to be accused of witchcraft, one comment in the book is ‘Drinks too much ale for a woman’ and under torture most gave names or admitted to whatever they were accused of.
What absolutely blows my mind is how stupid these men were, I mean if they were really witches, they would turn them all into some creature you can stamp of or fly away.
One of the ways they checked to see if a person was a witch or not was to swim them. If they sank, they weren’t a witch if they didn’t it meant they were a witch, they did this in the sea, northern Norway, it is amazing they didn’t die straight away from shock.
Definitely recommend this one for those who enjoy these types of titles of fiction based on real events
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-08-23
Absolutely brilliant
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Couldn’t stop listening. Loved the facts about the characters at the end and the respectful attention given to those the book was was based on.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Wowbagger_The_Third
- 11-05-24
Struggled with the narration
I didn’t enjoy this as much as I expected, despite it being a genre I usually really connect with. The over enunciation of the narrator drove me crazy - I couldn’t stop being irritated by her pronunciation of names like “ambroosius” and “keersten” but even “Anna” managed to be annoying! I also don’t really like the changing of people and places, I think when you write historical fiction you should fill in blanks and not alter what is historical record - although if it had been a better written and more engaging book I wouldn’t have minded as much. At the end, I felt emotional and changed this review from 3 to 4 stars but really that emotion was missing from the whole story that came beforehand… sorry!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Louise Manville
- 06-09-23
Slow to get started
I had high hopes for this story but it was very slow to get going. Setting the scene and getting to the heart of the action took a long time. Once there it does pick up and it was an interesting listen. The highlight was the narrator who has a lovely clear voice and brought the story to life.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Katherine
- 12-02-24
Absolutely amazing but so long!
This book is an absolute must listen, but it really does take a while, and I just felt like it could’ve been shorter!
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