62 ratings | 7 reviews | avg rating:4.44

more photos (1)

Mary Sharratt’s Followers (486)

Mary’s Bookshelves

to-read (19)
currently-reading (1)
read (56)
graphic-novel (1)
historical-fiction (6)

Mary’s Friends (435)

Colleen

9,067 books | 1,486 friends

Kahvihetkikirjat

907 books | 33 friends

Lady Alexandrine

4,762 books | 278 friends

1,643 books | 317 friends

Victoria (RedsCat)

14,650 books | 695 friends

Sarah

1,203 books | 239 friends

Tonya Mitchell

521 books | 400 friends

kelly Fuller

14,234 books | 101 friends

More friends…

Mary Sharratt

Goodreads Author

Born

in Minneapolis, The United States

Website

http://www.marysharratt.com/

Genre

Historical Fiction

Influences

Louise Erdrich, Jeanette Winterson, Anita Diamant

Member Since

March 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/marysharratt

edit data

Mary Sharratt is an American writer who lives with her Belgian husband in the Pendle region of Lancashire, England, the setting for her acclaimed 2010 novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, which recasts the Pendle Witches of 1612 in their historical context as cunning folk and healers.

Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medicine, inspired her to write her most recent novel, ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, which explores the dramatic life of the 12th century Benedictine abbess, composer, polymath, and powerfrau.

Winner of the 2005 WILLA Literary Award and a Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Mary has also written the acclaimed novels SUMMIT AVENUE (Coffee Ho ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Mary Sharratt questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Mary Sharratt’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 14,958 ratings · 2,220 reviews · 14 distinct works • Similar authors

	Illuminations 3.99 avg rating — 4,883 ratings — published 2012 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Daughters of the Witching Hill 3.76 avg rating — 4,966 ratings — published 2010 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Vanishing Point 3.74 avg rating — 1,430 ratings — published 2006 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ecstasy 3.78 avg rating — 1,160 ratings — published 2018 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Real Minerva 4.07 avg rating — 694 ratings — published 2004 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Revelations 4.07 avg rating — 643 ratings — published 2021 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dark Lady's Mask 3.85 avg rating — 618 ratings — published 2016 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Summit Avenue 3.72 avg rating — 257 ratings — published 2000 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bitch Lit by Mary Sharratt (Goodreads Author), Maya Chowdhry 3.20 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2006	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	BY Sharratt, Mary ( Author ) [{ Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard Von Bingen By Sharratt, Mary ( Author ) Oct - 15- 2013 ( Paperback ) } ] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mary Sharratt…

77 posts
Mary Sharratt's Blog

How Oliver Cromwell stole Christmas

No Christmas for you!

Does Christmas make you want to shout Bah Humbug? You are not alone. Nor is the much touted "War Against Christmas" anything new. Oliver Cromwell goes down as history's biggest Grinch. The Lord Protector and his Puritan-led parliament literally stole Christmas in mid-17th century England.

A fervent Puritan, Cromwell was on a mission to cleanse his nation of what he perceiv Read more of this blog post »

View more on Mary Sharratt's website »

4 likes · Like • 1 comment • flag

Published on December 22, 2013 10:44

View all 77 posts »

Mary is Currently Reading

Mary Sharratt is currently reading

Daughter of Black Lake

by Cathy Marie Buchanan (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Apr 26, 2021 06:58AM

Quotes by Mary Sharratt (?)

“I am the serpent that devours her own tail--her own tale. If you tell a tale well enough, it becomes a path to follow. I shed my skin and begin again.”
― Mary Sharratt, Summit Avenue

9 likes

“Tibb has admonished me to be careful which road I walked, but in truth no road was simple, straightforward, or, indeed, what it appeared to be at first glimpse. Every path was tricksy, full of turns and twists and blind corners with God-only-knew-what dangers lurching round the bend.”
― Mary Sharratt, Daughters of the Witching Hill

4 likes

“Think about what you love, Hildegard. Trust it. That’s where your talents lie and that’s where you’ll find happiness, even here.”
― Mary Sharratt, Illuminations

2 likes

See all Mary Sharratt's quotes »

Polls

January 2014 - Group Read: What would you like to read in January?
(Theme: Innovative, inspirational, strong female character)

The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great - Eva Stachniak

27 votes, 19.9%

The Aviator's Wife - Melanie Benjamin

15 votes, 11.0%

The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

12 votes, 8.8%

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer

12 votes, 8.8%

The Winthrop Woman - Anya Seton

11 votes, 8.1%

The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert

10 votes, 7.4%

Legacy - Susan Kay

9 votes, 6.6%

Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen - Mary Sharratt

9 votes, 6.6%

The Twentieth Wife - Indu Sundaresan

8 votes, 5.9%

Hild - Nicola Griffith

8 votes, 5.9%

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald - Therese Anne Fowler

7 votes, 5.1%

Green Darkness - Anya Seton

4 votes, 2.9%

The Peerless Four - Victoria Patterson

2 votes, 1.5%

Band of Angels - Julia Gregson

2 votes, 1.5%

136 total votes

6 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: Pepita - frequent flyer	109	411	Sep 11, 2011 04:07AM
The History Book ...: KIRSTEN'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2011	40	132	Jan 01, 2012 04:03PM
Historical Fictio...: Mini-challenge #5 - January 2013 - Scoring Thread	219	204	Feb 10, 2013 12:38PM
2025 Reading Chal...: BookGyrlfromMO 100 Book Challenge for 2013	60	123	Apr 13, 2013 11:05PM
Historical Fictio...: October 2013: Nominations	23	162	Sep 01, 2013 11:11PM
2025 Reading Chal...: Theresa's Corner 2013	14	29	Sep 11, 2013 07:32AM
2025 Reading Chal...: September: Back to School Challenge	98	161	Oct 01, 2013 11:08PM

More…

Mary’s Quotes

“Everyone has talent. What's rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.”
― Erica Jong

tags: courage, talent

4629 likes

“I am the serpent that devours her own tail--her own tale. If you tell a tale well enough, it becomes a path to follow. I shed my skin and begin again.”
― Mary Sharratt, Summit Avenue

9 likes