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Λόις η μάγισσα
Η Λόις είναι μια 18χρονη Αγγλίδα που αναγκάζεται να ταξιδέψει στο Νέο Κόσμο στο τέλος του 17ου αιώνα για να ζητήσει προστασία από έναν άγνωστο θείο -το μόνο συγγενή της που έχε απομείνει στη ζωή. Όμως οι πρώτοι άποικοι της Αμερικής γίνονται επικίνδυνοι μέσα στη δεισιδαιμονία τους. Φοβούνται τους Ινδιάνους της Ανατολικής Ακτής, τα θηρία των δασών, το Σατανά και τις μάγισσες, που είναι όργανά του. Αλίμονο σε όποιον ξεφεύγει από τις πουριτανικές τους προδιαγραφές...
143 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1861
73 people are currently reading
3816 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Gaskell
1,138 books3,758 followersElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.
AKA:
Елізабет Гаскелл (Ukrainian)
AKA:
Елізабет Гаскелл (Ukrainian)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
February 5, 2019
Λυπητερό βιβλιαράκι αλλά πολύ εύστοχο και αληθινό.
December 24, 2023
Very good, but too long and cheesy and exaggerated in some parts.
EXCERPT: "Or there were spells -- so Nattee said -- hidden about the ground by the wizards, which changed that person's nature who found them; so that, gentle and loving as they might have been before, thereafter they took no pleasure but in the cruel torments of others, and had a strange power given to them of causing such torments at their will.
Once, Nattee, speaking low to Lois, who was alone with her in the kitchen, whispered out her terrified belief that such a spell had Prudence found; and, when the Indian showed her arms to Lois, all pinched black and blue by the impish child, the English girl began to be afraid of her cousin as of one possessed.
But it was not Nattee alone, nor young imaginative girls alone, that believed in these stories. We can afford to smile at them now; but our English ancestors entertained superstitions of much the same character at the same period, and with less excuse, as the circumstances surrounding them were better known, and consequently more explicable by common sense, than the real mysteries of the deep, untrodden forests of New England.
The gravest divines not only believed stories similar to that of the double-headed serpent, and other tales of witchcraft, but they made such narrations the subjects of preaching and prayer; and, as cowardice makes us all cruel, men who were blameless in many of the relations of life, and even praiseworthy in some, became, from superstition, cruel persecutors about this time, showing no mercy towards any one whom they believed to be in league with the Evil One."
EXCERPT: "Or there were spells -- so Nattee said -- hidden about the ground by the wizards, which changed that person's nature who found them; so that, gentle and loving as they might have been before, thereafter they took no pleasure but in the cruel torments of others, and had a strange power given to them of causing such torments at their will.
Once, Nattee, speaking low to Lois, who was alone with her in the kitchen, whispered out her terrified belief that such a spell had Prudence found; and, when the Indian showed her arms to Lois, all pinched black and blue by the impish child, the English girl began to be afraid of her cousin as of one possessed.
But it was not Nattee alone, nor young imaginative girls alone, that believed in these stories. We can afford to smile at them now; but our English ancestors entertained superstitions of much the same character at the same period, and with less excuse, as the circumstances surrounding them were better known, and consequently more explicable by common sense, than the real mysteries of the deep, untrodden forests of New England.
The gravest divines not only believed stories similar to that of the double-headed serpent, and other tales of witchcraft, but they made such narrations the subjects of preaching and prayer; and, as cowardice makes us all cruel, men who were blameless in many of the relations of life, and even praiseworthy in some, became, from superstition, cruel persecutors about this time, showing no mercy towards any one whom they believed to be in league with the Evil One."
October 17, 2016
My soul's an ember in the flames of hell
Si hay un suceso histórico puntual del cual me ha resultado fascinante leer, es la época de los juicios de Salem, donde las fervorosas e histéricas masas acusaban de practicar la brujería a todo aquél que sobresaliera de alguna forma, ya sea tener un lunar, leer e informarse "más de lo usual", y cosas de esa naturaleza. Es impresionante cómo el velo de la ignorancia cegó a tanta gente al punto de terminar con la vida de cientos de inocentes, cómo la religión era el abc del pueblo y regía todo.
El libro me resultó perfecto, su vibra gótica, los toques paranormales que lentamente iban tomando lugar en la vida de la atormentada Lois, como poco a poco se integraba el tema de la brujería y el contacto con Satán, y se lo atribuía a prácticamente todo lo que a sus ojos era inusual, diferente o desconocido. Hombres, mujeres e incluso animales ardieron en las llamas de la implacable y cruel hoguera, muchos fueron perseguidos y torturados tras haber presentado una de las tantas características que determinaban si eras o no digno de compartir tierra con los demás cristianos.
Esta historia me enamoró, tiene el encanto de poseer una protagonista joven que lucha contra las adversidades para mantenerse firme ante sus convicciones y sus ideales, a pesar de que todo parezca estar en su contra. Me ayudó mucho a profundizar en esta temática que tan curiosa me resulta, me dio una mirada más cercana sobre el sanguinario accionar de un pueblo ante lo impío. Sin lugar a duda, me recordó muchísimo a "The Witch", película de 2015 con la misma temática. No voy a extenderme mucho más, pero le haré una reseña en mi canal un poco más completa.
Si hay un suceso histórico puntual del cual me ha resultado fascinante leer, es la época de los juicios de Salem, donde las fervorosas e histéricas masas acusaban de practicar la brujería a todo aquél que sobresaliera de alguna forma, ya sea tener un lunar, leer e informarse "más de lo usual", y cosas de esa naturaleza. Es impresionante cómo el velo de la ignorancia cegó a tanta gente al punto de terminar con la vida de cientos de inocentes, cómo la religión era el abc del pueblo y regía todo.
El libro me resultó perfecto, su vibra gótica, los toques paranormales que lentamente iban tomando lugar en la vida de la atormentada Lois, como poco a poco se integraba el tema de la brujería y el contacto con Satán, y se lo atribuía a prácticamente todo lo que a sus ojos era inusual, diferente o desconocido. Hombres, mujeres e incluso animales ardieron en las llamas de la implacable y cruel hoguera, muchos fueron perseguidos y torturados tras haber presentado una de las tantas características que determinaban si eras o no digno de compartir tierra con los demás cristianos.
Esta historia me enamoró, tiene el encanto de poseer una protagonista joven que lucha contra las adversidades para mantenerse firme ante sus convicciones y sus ideales, a pesar de que todo parezca estar en su contra. Me ayudó mucho a profundizar en esta temática que tan curiosa me resulta, me dio una mirada más cercana sobre el sanguinario accionar de un pueblo ante lo impío. Sin lugar a duda, me recordó muchísimo a "The Witch", película de 2015 con la misma temática. No voy a extenderme mucho más, pero le haré una reseña en mi canal un poco más completa.
July 30, 2019
‘’Satan is abroad--is close to us.’’
Salem witch trials: *clears throat* Men are trash.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.(An overwhelming majority of people accused and convicted of witchcraft were women (about 78%).)
I like reading about Salem. It’s so interesting and also extremely frustrating. Extremely religious people are dangerous #facts.
‘’Puritans held the belief that men and women were equal in the eyes of God, but not in the eyes of the Devil. Women's souls were seen as unprotected in their weak and vulnerable bodies.’’
1. I wish witches were real because magic is so fucking cool.
2. If you were accused of being a witch, you would die. Good luck proving them you aren’t.
3. The fact that you could accuse anyone of being a witch because you didn’t like them is fucked up. The neighbour is a cunt? Burn her to the stake.
Okay look, I know that Wicca/Paganism is a religion and there are people who think they are witches and that crystals and spells work. I also know that we all grew up watching Charmed and witchcraft related shit and wish it was real but it’s not. I’ve looked into witchcraft, wicca and blah blah so I know what it is about and I will also stop talking because some of you are cry babies.
‘’God's people have sold their souls to Satan, for the sake of a little of his evil power.’’
Bruh I wish it was a thing. Also witchcraft and Satanism isn’t the same thing, right? I think you can be both but whatever.
List of people executed for witchcraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
I like reading about Salem. It’s so interesting and also extremely frustrating. Extremely religious people are dangerous #facts.
1. I wish witches were real because magic is so fucking cool.
2. If you were accused of being a witch, you would die. Good luck proving them you aren’t.
3. The fact that you could accuse anyone of being a witch because you didn’t like them is fucked up. The neighbour is a cunt? Burn her to the stake.
Okay look, I know that Wicca/Paganism is a religion and there are people who think they are witches and that crystals and spells work. I also know that we all grew up watching Charmed and witchcraft related shit and wish it was real but it’s not. I’ve looked into witchcraft, wicca and blah blah so I know what it is about and I will also stop talking because some of you are cry babies.
‘’God's people have sold their souls to Satan, for the sake of a little of his evil power.’’
Bruh I wish it was a thing. Also witchcraft and Satanism isn’t the same thing, right? I think you can be both but whatever.
October 23, 2018
Este cuento me gustó más que "La clarisa pobre" aunque todavía no me llega a gustar del todo el estilo de Gaskell, espero cambiar de opinión al leer sus novelas más logradas.
Esta es la historia de Lois, una joven inglesa que luego de haber perdido a sus padres y quedarse huérfana es encargada a un tío suyo de Estados Unidos. Cuando llega tiene una promesa de un posible matrimonio de un joven inglés que la pretendía, sin embargo al conocer a la nueva familia entre la cual pasará sus días todo cambiará de una manera radical.
El ambiente es el de una época muy conocida en la historia estadounidense, los juicios de Salem, entre los años 1692 a 1693. La manera cómo el puritanismo inglés arraigado en las colonias americanas obró de manera tan radical es espeluznante y sirve como crítica al fanatismo religioso. Esta obra de hecho así como otras que retratan ese episodio es interesante.
Por ser cuento supongo que adoleció de ciertos detalles y sobre todo fuerza. Recargando las tintas definitivamente le hubiese puesto más estrellas.
Esta es la historia de Lois, una joven inglesa que luego de haber perdido a sus padres y quedarse huérfana es encargada a un tío suyo de Estados Unidos. Cuando llega tiene una promesa de un posible matrimonio de un joven inglés que la pretendía, sin embargo al conocer a la nueva familia entre la cual pasará sus días todo cambiará de una manera radical.
El ambiente es el de una época muy conocida en la historia estadounidense, los juicios de Salem, entre los años 1692 a 1693. La manera cómo el puritanismo inglés arraigado en las colonias americanas obró de manera tan radical es espeluznante y sirve como crítica al fanatismo religioso. Esta obra de hecho así como otras que retratan ese episodio es interesante.
Por ser cuento supongo que adoleció de ciertos detalles y sobre todo fuerza. Recargando las tintas definitivamente le hubiese puesto más estrellas.
December 21, 2023
“Lois la Strega”, pubblicato da Elizabeth Gaskell nel 1860, si allontana nel tempo e nello spazio dal romanzo “Nord e Sud” edito poco prima e ci catapulta nel difficile mondo del Massachussetts della fine del XVII secolo e più precisamente nella cittadina di Salem dove nel 1692 si tenne un famoso processo alle streghe e da questo fatto storicamente accertato crea i presupposti di quest'opera.
La narrazione è suggestiva e coinvolgente per la capacità della scrittrice di mettere in evidenza gli stati d’animo dei protagonisti della vicenda, l’ambiente bigotto e arretrato della popolazione puritana nonché l’ostilità latente dei nativi americani visti come selvaggi idolatri da redimere o schiavizzare e la fitta foresta che incombeva sulla città vissuta come minacciosa e pericolosa. In questo contesto quotidiano avverso e inospitale non può meravigliare un’esplosione collettiva di isteria come quella qui narrata con maestria, turbamento e compassione.
La narrazione è suggestiva e coinvolgente per la capacità della scrittrice di mettere in evidenza gli stati d’animo dei protagonisti della vicenda, l’ambiente bigotto e arretrato della popolazione puritana nonché l’ostilità latente dei nativi americani visti come selvaggi idolatri da redimere o schiavizzare e la fitta foresta che incombeva sulla città vissuta come minacciosa e pericolosa. In questo contesto quotidiano avverso e inospitale non può meravigliare un’esplosione collettiva di isteria come quella qui narrata con maestria, turbamento e compassione.
April 16, 2025
“[A]nd, as cowardice makes us all cruel, men who were blameless in many of the relations of life, and even praiseworthy in some, became, from superstition, cruel persecutors about this time, showing no mercy towards any one whom they believed to be in league with the Evil One.”
Loosely based on the Salem witchcraft trials from February 1692 to May 1693, Lois the Witch is a very long short story in three chapters, or a novella, about orphaned Lois Barclay, who comes from England to live with her uncle’s family in Salem, New England, and suddenly finds herself accused of witchcraft in an episode of religious mass hysteria, only to be eventually hanged. Although sometimes allowing herself some lapses into syrupy melodrama, especially when it comes to stressing Lois’s innocence and human decency, its author, Elizabeth Gaskell, applies quite a detached and analytical narrative voice, sometimes even addressing the reader, which makes her account seem more factual and at the same time allows us some psychological insights both into the Puritan community spirit and in the minds of some of the characters involved, particularly the Hicksons, Lois’s foster family.
With a fascinating eye to detail, Gaskell suggests that the very position of Salem in the forests of New England’s as yet untamed wilderness, adding the ubiquitous threat by the Indians, contributed to the settlers’ susceptibility to tension, distrust and seeking their redemption in a religion I would see as harsh, rigid and unwholesome to man’s mind:
Quite obviously, in such surroundings and imbued with the conviction that those “pagan”, “heathen” native Americans were surely misguided by the devil himself, everyone felt thrown back upon their own community and conformism and vigilance were the watchwords of those days. As a result, such a colony proved the perfect breeding ground for paranoia. In the case of Nattee, an Indian woman who came to live as a humble servant with the Hicksons, Gaskell also shows that the reputation for knowing about the eerie pagan powers of the land could also be used by the oppressed to play upon their masters’ superstitions and thus enjoy some sense of seeming supremacy:
Needless to say that it is finally this spurious assumption of power that will bring about Nattee’s downfall and put her on her way towards the gallows. In Lois’s case, her implication in suspicions of witchcraft is brought about by a bundle of motives within her new family: There is the Hicksons’ youngest daughter, Prudence, a volatile girl who has a deep yearning for making mischief in order to be the centre of everyone’s attention, and it is she who first accuses her cousin of being a witch, showing, either from artfulness or hysteria, all signs of being worked upon by demonic powers against her will. But there is also her elder sister Faith, who bears malice towards Lois out of jealousy, and their mother Grace, who always begrudged Lois her place in the family and would rather sacrifice her niece’s life than her family’s reputation. In short, Prudence, Faith and Grace are worthy bearers of their names. Little does it help that their eldest brother Manasseh, a moody fanatic, whose mind has gone awry, either due to his religious zeal or his surroundings, is obsessed by Lois and that his ravings create the impression of yet another person being under the nefarious spell of the so-called witch.
The psychological depth in this tale of claustrophobic hysteria, mingled with ordinary human meanness, is quite astounding and makes Lois the Witch a compelling little masterpiece one definitely ought to read – especially in times when we have all experienced our little hygiene-obsessed witch hunts of people who would not get a little shot of a dubious serum.
The end of the novella clearly makes a case for the redeeming power of forgiveness, and this is where the tale jarred with me: Although I consider myself a Christian, I do not unconditionally agree with one of the basic tenets of our creed, thinking instead that forgiving and, optionally, forgetting is not always the way to make this world better or to enter your home justified. There are trespasses so mean and momentous that they should not be forgiven without proper retribution being made in the first place because how else shall we ensure they will not be repeated. At least, I think so with an eye on and a tooth in the recent witch hunts of our day and age.
Loosely based on the Salem witchcraft trials from February 1692 to May 1693, Lois the Witch is a very long short story in three chapters, or a novella, about orphaned Lois Barclay, who comes from England to live with her uncle’s family in Salem, New England, and suddenly finds herself accused of witchcraft in an episode of religious mass hysteria, only to be eventually hanged. Although sometimes allowing herself some lapses into syrupy melodrama, especially when it comes to stressing Lois’s innocence and human decency, its author, Elizabeth Gaskell, applies quite a detached and analytical narrative voice, sometimes even addressing the reader, which makes her account seem more factual and at the same time allows us some psychological insights both into the Puritan community spirit and in the minds of some of the characters involved, particularly the Hicksons, Lois’s foster family.
With a fascinating eye to detail, Gaskell suggests that the very position of Salem in the forests of New England’s as yet untamed wilderness, adding the ubiquitous threat by the Indians, contributed to the settlers’ susceptibility to tension, distrust and seeking their redemption in a religion I would see as harsh, rigid and unwholesome to man’s mind:
”The deep green forest, tangled into heavy darkness even thus early in the year, came within a few yards of the road all the way, though efforts were regularly made by the inhabitants of the neighbouring settlements to keep a certain space clear on each side, for fear of the lurking Indians, who might otherwise come upon them unawares. The cries of strange birds, the unwonted colour of some of them, all suggested to the imaginative or unaccustomed traveller the idea of war-whoops and painted deadly enemies.”
Quite obviously, in such surroundings and imbued with the conviction that those “pagan”, “heathen” native Americans were surely misguided by the devil himself, everyone felt thrown back upon their own community and conformism and vigilance were the watchwords of those days. As a result, such a colony proved the perfect breeding ground for paranoia. In the case of Nattee, an Indian woman who came to live as a humble servant with the Hicksons, Gaskell also shows that the reputation for knowing about the eerie pagan powers of the land could also be used by the oppressed to play upon their masters’ superstitions and thus enjoy some sense of seeming supremacy:
”Nattee, the old Indian servant, would occasionally make Lois's blood run cold, as she and Faith and Prudence listened to the wild stories she told them of the wizards of her race. […] There ran through these stories always a ghastly, unexpressed suggestion of some human sacrifice being needed to complete the success of any incantation to the Evil One; and the poor old creature, herself believing and shuddering as she narrated her tale in broken English, took a strange, unconscious pleasure in her power over her hearers – young girls of the oppressing race, which had brought her down into a state little differing from slavery, and reduced her people to outcasts on the hunting-grounds which had belonged to her fathers.”
Needless to say that it is finally this spurious assumption of power that will bring about Nattee’s downfall and put her on her way towards the gallows. In Lois’s case, her implication in suspicions of witchcraft is brought about by a bundle of motives within her new family: There is the Hicksons’ youngest daughter, Prudence, a volatile girl who has a deep yearning for making mischief in order to be the centre of everyone’s attention, and it is she who first accuses her cousin of being a witch, showing, either from artfulness or hysteria, all signs of being worked upon by demonic powers against her will. But there is also her elder sister Faith, who bears malice towards Lois out of jealousy, and their mother Grace, who always begrudged Lois her place in the family and would rather sacrifice her niece’s life than her family’s reputation. In short, Prudence, Faith and Grace are worthy bearers of their names. Little does it help that their eldest brother Manasseh, a moody fanatic, whose mind has gone awry, either due to his religious zeal or his surroundings, is obsessed by Lois and that his ravings create the impression of yet another person being under the nefarious spell of the so-called witch.
The psychological depth in this tale of claustrophobic hysteria, mingled with ordinary human meanness, is quite astounding and makes Lois the Witch a compelling little masterpiece one definitely ought to read – especially in times when we have all experienced our little hygiene-obsessed witch hunts of people who would not get a little shot of a dubious serum.
The end of the novella clearly makes a case for the redeeming power of forgiveness, and this is where the tale jarred with me: Although I consider myself a Christian, I do not unconditionally agree with one of the basic tenets of our creed, thinking instead that forgiving and, optionally, forgetting is not always the way to make this world better or to enter your home justified. There are trespasses so mean and momentous that they should not be forgiven without proper retribution being made in the first place because how else shall we ensure they will not be repeated. At least, I think so with an eye on and a tooth in the recent witch hunts of our day and age.
March 20, 2015
‘La bruja Lois’ (Lois the Witch, 1859) es un retrato perfecto del fanatismo religioso imperante en Nueva Inglaterra a finales del siglo XVII. El lector acompaña a la protagonista, Lois, recién llegada desde Inglaterra al nuevo continente. Al quedarse huérfana es acogida por su nueva familia en Salem, Nueva Inglaterra, donde las costumbres le son extrañas y donde su conducta es analizada escrupulosamente. El desprecio de sus familiares y la indefensión ante el fanatismo que está creciendo como una marea en Salem, arrastrarán a la joven Lois a una caza de brujas.
Histeria colectiva, fanatismo religioso, odio, celos y venganza tuvieron lugar en Salem, algo que la autora, Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865), recrea a la perfección en esta novela corta.
Histeria colectiva, fanatismo religioso, odio, celos y venganza tuvieron lugar en Salem, algo que la autora, Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865), recrea a la perfección en esta novela corta.
October 22, 2017
Muy muy interesante. Me ha gustado mucho la versión de Elizabeth Gaskell acerca de los juicios de Salem. La novela resulta muy atmosférica y además se da una explicación muy plausible a cómo se fue fraguando esa histeria colectiva que desencadenó la tragedia.
November 8, 2010
The ending was beautiful. What a heart touching short story by Mrs. Gaskell. It portrayed the Salem witch trials as they would have been viewed by countries other than America. Well worth your time to read. Lovely and harrowing.
August 16, 2025
“Where evidence takes a supernatural character, there is no disproving it.”
This is a frank and revealing novella, following the young, orphaned Lois Barclay from England to her Uncle’s home in 1691 Salem, Massachusetts. So with the time, place and title, we know exactly what we’re in for.
What makes this so interesting is Gaskell portrays the motivations behind the accusations and the hysteria: the way religion is used as a litmus test of whether you’re on the right side or not, but how it can be manipulated into whatever was needed to serve certain ends.
And talk about hysteria. “Nay, even dogs were accused of witchcraft, suffered the legal penalties, and are recorded among the subjects of capital punishment.” I’m grateful that by now, most of us realize that there are no bad dogs. Period. (Now if we can only get there with people.)
Reading along, I couldn’t help but think what a bunch of sheep we are. We’re so susceptible to manufactured terrors, to fake news. All we want to do is pick a side and accept whatever they say, whether it makes sense or not. It’s horrifying, especially if you find yourself on the “wrong” side, for whatever real or made-up reason.
I did have two complaints. One was her depiction of Native people was glaringly prejudiced. The other was I wished she’d made it more of a novel and less of a treatise. She could have spun a great story with these characters, in that way she has of letting us walk among them through her prose. But maybe she just didn’t want to spend that much time with them, and that I can completely understand.
“Folk get affrighted of the real dangers, and in their fright imagine, perchance, dangers that are not.”
This is a frank and revealing novella, following the young, orphaned Lois Barclay from England to her Uncle’s home in 1691 Salem, Massachusetts. So with the time, place and title, we know exactly what we’re in for.
What makes this so interesting is Gaskell portrays the motivations behind the accusations and the hysteria: the way religion is used as a litmus test of whether you’re on the right side or not, but how it can be manipulated into whatever was needed to serve certain ends.
And talk about hysteria. “Nay, even dogs were accused of witchcraft, suffered the legal penalties, and are recorded among the subjects of capital punishment.” I’m grateful that by now, most of us realize that there are no bad dogs. Period. (Now if we can only get there with people.)
Reading along, I couldn’t help but think what a bunch of sheep we are. We’re so susceptible to manufactured terrors, to fake news. All we want to do is pick a side and accept whatever they say, whether it makes sense or not. It’s horrifying, especially if you find yourself on the “wrong” side, for whatever real or made-up reason.
I did have two complaints. One was her depiction of Native people was glaringly prejudiced. The other was I wished she’d made it more of a novel and less of a treatise. She could have spun a great story with these characters, in that way she has of letting us walk among them through her prose. But maybe she just didn’t want to spend that much time with them, and that I can completely understand.
“Folk get affrighted of the real dangers, and in their fright imagine, perchance, dangers that are not.”
August 27, 2025
Elizabeth Gaskell captured the background that created the Salem witch trials (and similar trials). This story showed that she was a great writer.
Without melodrama, I got the feeling of the times and people. And the plot, to the end, was consistent (even though I would have liked a different ending).
[4.5 stars]
Without melodrama, I got the feeling of the times and people. And the plot, to the end, was consistent (even though I would have liked a different ending).
[4.5 stars]
October 15, 2019
3'5 / 5
Me ha gustado bastante, pero no he podido dejar de compararlo con 'Las brujas de Salem', y claro, este le gana en histeria, locura, tontez humana, etc. Vamos que a La bruja Lois le falta un poco de garra, de crueldad (?).
Pero está muy bien escrito y es cortito, lo que facilita mucho la lectura.
Es una locura todo el tema de la religión (cuanto daño ha hecho, y hace).
Me ha gustado bastante, pero no he podido dejar de compararlo con 'Las brujas de Salem', y claro, este le gana en histeria, locura, tontez humana, etc. Vamos que a La bruja Lois le falta un poco de garra, de crueldad (?).
Pero está muy bien escrito y es cortito, lo que facilita mucho la lectura.
Es una locura todo el tema de la religión (cuanto daño ha hecho, y hace).
August 17, 2018
Πέντε βιβλία πήρα στις διακοπές μου, αλλά δεν μου έφτασαν, οπότε διάβασα το συγκεκριμένο βιβλιαράκι που βρήκα εκεί που παραθέριζα. Η 18χρονη Λόις, μια Αγγλίδα που μένει ορφανή, αναγκάζεται να ταξιδέψει στον Νέο Κόσμο, στο τέλος του 17ου Αιώνα, για να ζητήσει προστασία από έναν άγνωστο θείο, που μένει με την οικογένειά του στο Σάλεμ. Όμως το Σάλεμ εκείνης της εποχής είναι ένα επικίνδυνο μέρος για ανθρώπους διαφορετικούς, μιας και οι κάτοικοι είναι άνθρωποι γεμάτοι δεισιδαιμονίες και φοβίες. Φοβούνται τους Ινδιάνους (λογικό), τα θηρία του δάσους, αλλά και τις μάγισσες, που είναι γυναίκες της διπλανής πόρτας. Η συγγραφέας αναδεικνύει με μελοδραματικό τόνο το κυνήγι μαγισσών του Σάλεμ εκείνης της εποχής και πως κάποιες προσωπικές διαφορές (ερωτικές αντιζηλίες, οικογενειακές κόντρες ή διαμάχες μεταξύ γειτόνων), μπορούσαν να οδηγήσουν κάποιον στην αγχόνη, λόγω... μαύρης μαγείας. Είναι ένα βιβλίο που δείχνει τα χρόνια του τόσο στη δομή της ιστορίας όσο και στη γραφή, όμως χωρίς αμφιβολία είναι είναι ένα έργο ενδιαφέρον και αρκετά καλογραμμένο, που έχει κάποια πράγματα να πει.
September 23, 2025
How could the North American witch hunt happen? The narrator here shows us how outsiders are easy pickings for finding witches. A black servant is first picked and Lois is soon after picked. In girl fights it is the outsider who is made to feel her lack of power, how wrong she is in her being. The twists and turns described in this story are all too common for a woman who is different despite her service, for a refusal to be the woman men want.
Written in a time when middle class women were beginning to have a public presence in church and social work, this was a timely story of warning.
We still might benefit from such a story.
Written in a time when middle class women were beginning to have a public presence in church and social work, this was a timely story of warning.
We still might benefit from such a story.
April 14, 2008
Well written short story that is among the best of Gaskell's work, in my humble opinion. Set amongst the American witch trials of the 1600s, the work fills you with frenzy as the momentum of accusations against Lois increase and leaving you powerless to stop them. The only sense of relief comes with the shared anger and pain with the fiancee.
October 29, 2023
molto moderno
October 8, 2021
Hacía mucho tiempo que quería dar una oportunidad a la autora, ¡y no podría haber elegido mejor! El hecho de que hablemos de una historia real, de una pobre chica que fue acusada de bruja en la famosa (por motivos atroces) Salem... es devastador. Y muy feo. Qué demonios: horrible.
El libro hace daño. Y hace daño porque Lois es una chica maravillosa. Dulce, sacrificada, demasiado buena para sí misma. Os puedo prometer que las últimas páginas las leí con los dientes apretados, preguntándome en qué maldito momento habían llegado a la conclusión de que la suerte de pruebas - harto estúpidas - iban a "demostrar" algo.
Si queréis un relato breve e intenso, estoy segura de que os va a encantar.
El libro hace daño. Y hace daño porque Lois es una chica maravillosa. Dulce, sacrificada, demasiado buena para sí misma. Os puedo prometer que las últimas páginas las leí con los dientes apretados, preguntándome en qué maldito momento habían llegado a la conclusión de que la suerte de pruebas - harto estúpidas - iban a "demostrar" algo.
Si queréis un relato breve e intenso, estoy segura de que os va a encantar.
October 24, 2018
My review of the novella 'Lois the Witch': https://theblankgarden.com/2018/10/23...
June 12, 2025
The hanging of witches, as prescribed by scripture and proven by spectral evidence. Praise to the lord.
November 27, 2025
Orphaned Lois Barclay moves from peaceful Barford, England, to Salem, colonial Massachusetts, to live with her uncle's family. Her arrival is unexpected and unwelcome by most of the household.
Her aunt, Grace Hickson, a god-fearing, righteous woman, is fiercely protective of her first-born son. Manasseh, slightly unstable, has prophetic visions and pursues Lois against her will. Faith, the older daughter, is hopelessly in love with the young minister and becomes jealous of Lois's beauty. And Prudence, the younger daughter, has a morbid obsession with death. There is a dark gloom about the Hickson family foreshadowing bad things to come.
It's not difficult to see where this is leading. In Salem. In 1692.
A frightening story about religious fanatism and mass hysteria that starkly illustrated Lois’s isolation and powerlessness. And incredibly sad.
The writing is, as may be expected from Mrs Gaskell, excellent.
Her aunt, Grace Hickson, a god-fearing, righteous woman, is fiercely protective of her first-born son. Manasseh, slightly unstable, has prophetic visions and pursues Lois against her will. Faith, the older daughter, is hopelessly in love with the young minister and becomes jealous of Lois's beauty. And Prudence, the younger daughter, has a morbid obsession with death. There is a dark gloom about the Hickson family foreshadowing bad things to come.
It's not difficult to see where this is leading. In Salem. In 1692.
A frightening story about religious fanatism and mass hysteria that starkly illustrated Lois’s isolation and powerlessness. And incredibly sad.
The writing is, as may be expected from Mrs Gaskell, excellent.
November 19, 2024
I have a strange love-hate relationship with Gaskell, but this was a fantastic read, almost as infuriating as The Crucible, or maybe even more as we see it through the eyes of an compassionate eighteen year old orphaned English girl who is forced to move to 'the new world', where the vicious disease of the imagination had spread like a plague.
There is much horror here and Gaskell sets a great scene of Dickensian historical fiction (is it though?) that is needless to unpack, we are amidst the Puritans of Salem -there are no spoilers here.
But the absolute worst moment of them all- sheer brilliancy on Gaskell to kickstart the actual Horror story within the Historical Fiction with the horror of an unreceived letter that was supposed to announce someone's imminent arrival - and the horror of having to receive an unannounced guest - and the horror of being received as an unannounced guest.
From here all hell breaks loose and History speaks for itself.
"[...] and in the dead of the night, they heard the woman's loud and pitiful outcry from the march, 'Lord Jesu, have mercy on me! Save me from the power of man, on Lord Jesus!' and the blood of all who heard ran cold with terror, till old Nance Hickson, who had been bedridden for years, stood up and said that as they had not had brave hearts or faith enough to go and succour the helpless, that cry of a dying woman should be in their ears, and in their children's ears, till the end of the world."
There is much horror here and Gaskell sets a great scene of Dickensian historical fiction (is it though?) that is needless to unpack, we are amidst the Puritans of Salem -there are no spoilers here.
But the absolute worst moment of them all- sheer brilliancy on Gaskell to kickstart the actual Horror story within the Historical Fiction with the horror of an unreceived letter that was supposed to announce someone's imminent arrival - and the horror of having to receive an unannounced guest - and the horror of being received as an unannounced guest.
From here all hell breaks loose and History speaks for itself.
"[...] and in the dead of the night, they heard the woman's loud and pitiful outcry from the march, 'Lord Jesu, have mercy on me! Save me from the power of man, on Lord Jesus!' and the blood of all who heard ran cold with terror, till old Nance Hickson, who had been bedridden for years, stood up and said that as they had not had brave hearts or faith enough to go and succour the helpless, that cry of a dying woman should be in their ears, and in their children's ears, till the end of the world."
January 2, 2021
This wasn't a festive book to start my year with but nonetheless a good read. Terrifying though. But at the same time, a good reminder of what human foolishness, blind faith, and complete absence of independent thinking can do.
This would make a great autumnal read.
This would make a great autumnal read.
November 4, 2023
Io lo sapevo che questo libro mi avrebbe fatto male. Un racconto, veloce e toccante, scritto nel 1800 e riguardante le vicende di Salem del 1600. Una storia come tante ce ne saranno state, una breve panoramica su quel momento di follia collettiva che è stata la caccia alle streghe. Impossibile non affezionarsi a Lois e non soffrire per lei, e non provare un misto di rabbia e compassione per chi si è lasciato trascinare da quei tragici avvenimenti.
August 14, 2025
I have to rate this on how well I liked it, not how well it's written. It's a dark, depressing story set during the Salem witch trials, showcasing the worst in humanity, and I didn't enjoy reading it. In fact, I only read it because it's relatively short and it was part of a group read. Plus I love Gaskell. but the very features that make me love her work made this hard to read.
Personally, I have to be careful about reading pieces like this, they can depress me, and this was well done - I felt the hopelessness of our MCs position almost from the beginning of the story. Did I like it? Well, no. Too depressing for me, but pretty well done. I also wondered why Gaskell set it in Salem instead of in England, which had its own witch hunts, as many countries have had at one time or another.
NB - Parallels can be drawn with The Scarlet Letter, The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Crucible.
Personally, I have to be careful about reading pieces like this, they can depress me, and this was well done - I felt the hopelessness of our MCs position almost from the beginning of the story. Did I like it? Well, no. Too depressing for me, but pretty well done. I also wondered why Gaskell set it in Salem instead of in England, which had its own witch hunts, as many countries have had at one time or another.
NB - Parallels can be drawn with The Scarlet Letter, The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Crucible.
July 27, 2020
"...el pánico atrae la cobardía y la cobardía llama a la crueldad"
Salem a finales del s. XVII, un pueblo lleno de puritanos creyentes y temerosos del pecado de la brujería, quienes colgaban, encerraban y torturaban a aquellos que eran acusados de tales actos, trayendo desgracia y vergüenza a toda la familia del acusado/a.
Aquí encontraremos elementos muy conocidos y característicos que rodean a Salem, contará con la presencia importantísima en la historia del Dr. Cotton Mather, habrá un pueblo temeroso y a la vez extasiado por la culpabilidad y juicio de las brujas, miedo a las tribus y supersticiones en torno a que son brujos, leyendas escalofriantes.
Lois Barclay llega a Salem a la casa de su tío tras la muerte de su madre.
Al llegar se encuentra con que su tío está postrado y peor aún, la carta que indicaba que ella llegaría a ese lugar no fue entregada, haciendo de su llegada una desagradable e incómoda sorpresa para todos en especial para su tía.
Una historia cargada de miedo, tormentos, soledad y desolación. Lois es constantemente presionada por no pertenecer ahí y porque llama la atención. Lo que, en un momento, desencadenará una gran conmoción y molestia en algunas personas que no les gustará este efecto que ella provoca.
Para mi es perfecto como todo en esta historia le da vida a uno de los momentos más conocidos en la historia de la humanidad, la caza de brujas en Salem y todo lo que rodea a estos hechos.
Salem a finales del s. XVII, un pueblo lleno de puritanos creyentes y temerosos del pecado de la brujería, quienes colgaban, encerraban y torturaban a aquellos que eran acusados de tales actos, trayendo desgracia y vergüenza a toda la familia del acusado/a.
Aquí encontraremos elementos muy conocidos y característicos que rodean a Salem, contará con la presencia importantísima en la historia del Dr. Cotton Mather, habrá un pueblo temeroso y a la vez extasiado por la culpabilidad y juicio de las brujas, miedo a las tribus y supersticiones en torno a que son brujos, leyendas escalofriantes.
Lois Barclay llega a Salem a la casa de su tío tras la muerte de su madre.
Al llegar se encuentra con que su tío está postrado y peor aún, la carta que indicaba que ella llegaría a ese lugar no fue entregada, haciendo de su llegada una desagradable e incómoda sorpresa para todos en especial para su tía.
Una historia cargada de miedo, tormentos, soledad y desolación. Lois es constantemente presionada por no pertenecer ahí y porque llama la atención. Lo que, en un momento, desencadenará una gran conmoción y molestia en algunas personas que no les gustará este efecto que ella provoca.
Para mi es perfecto como todo en esta historia le da vida a uno de los momentos más conocidos en la historia de la humanidad, la caza de brujas en Salem y todo lo que rodea a estos hechos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2024
En esta obra la autora hace un retrato de Salem en 1691 justo cuando se están cometiendo una serie de hechos atroces en los que mujeres y hombres fueron condenadas por brujería
Sólo los más hábiles escritores son capaces de desplegar todo su arte, habilidad y buen hacer en pocas páginas, de manera rigurosa, escrita en su juventud (ya apuntaba maneras) y publicada por entregas, para escribir una historia de ficción basada en hechos reales ocurridos en el S. XVII en Salem.
Es una novela muy atmosférica por la descripción de la localidad, el perfil de los personajes, las conversaciones, los hechos, es angustiosa, desoladora y triste donde Lois Barclay queda al amparo de unos familiares, teniendo que viajar de Bardford a Salem, allí se ve desprotegida, y envuelta en una serie de hechos totalmente desconcertantes, en plena caza de brujas.
Es difícil mantener el interés en el lector, el ritmo y la tensión hasta el cierre de la novela intuyendo el final, por esto Gaskell ha superado la criba del tiempo, es una autora clásica que seguirá despertando el interés de los lectores tanto con sus obras más largas y conocidas, como esta pequeña joya, dotada de ciertos tintes autobiográficos, la protagonista es hija de un vicario y huérfana como la autora, destaca la crítica social, el puritanismo, el fanatismo religioso, el desarraigo, la vulnerabilidad, la ignorancia, los celos y la envidia, que son sobre los que se sustentan los hechos, la acusación de brujería cuando no se podía dominar a la mujer, la manipulación a través del terror y el miedo, y la desprotección judicial.
Lo cierto es que esperaba una novela corta sin más pero aquí Gaskell destaca por la documentación de los hechos, por poner en contexto al lector, por resaltar que fue una atrocidad sin base sobre la que sustentar estas condenas y resulta curioso que ya este hecho histórico fuera utilizado como base para una novela en el S. XIX.
A pesar de ser un libro muy corto (176 páginas, mi edición no es la de la fotografía, no está en Goodreads) no le falta nada, no te resulta que sea un final abrupto o le falte desarrollo a la historia, ¿hubiera estado mejor si hubiera sido más larga? Puede que sí, pero Gaskell utilizaba las novelas largas para denunciar otros temas sociales, y aquí utiliza una nouvelle, y dentro de las obras de Gaskell ha pasado muy desapercibida.
Sólo los más hábiles escritores son capaces de desplegar todo su arte, habilidad y buen hacer en pocas páginas, de manera rigurosa, escrita en su juventud (ya apuntaba maneras) y publicada por entregas, para escribir una historia de ficción basada en hechos reales ocurridos en el S. XVII en Salem.
Es una novela muy atmosférica por la descripción de la localidad, el perfil de los personajes, las conversaciones, los hechos, es angustiosa, desoladora y triste donde Lois Barclay queda al amparo de unos familiares, teniendo que viajar de Bardford a Salem, allí se ve desprotegida, y envuelta en una serie de hechos totalmente desconcertantes, en plena caza de brujas.
Es difícil mantener el interés en el lector, el ritmo y la tensión hasta el cierre de la novela intuyendo el final, por esto Gaskell ha superado la criba del tiempo, es una autora clásica que seguirá despertando el interés de los lectores tanto con sus obras más largas y conocidas, como esta pequeña joya, dotada de ciertos tintes autobiográficos, la protagonista es hija de un vicario y huérfana como la autora, destaca la crítica social, el puritanismo, el fanatismo religioso, el desarraigo, la vulnerabilidad, la ignorancia, los celos y la envidia, que son sobre los que se sustentan los hechos, la acusación de brujería cuando no se podía dominar a la mujer, la manipulación a través del terror y el miedo, y la desprotección judicial.
Lo cierto es que esperaba una novela corta sin más pero aquí Gaskell destaca por la documentación de los hechos, por poner en contexto al lector, por resaltar que fue una atrocidad sin base sobre la que sustentar estas condenas y resulta curioso que ya este hecho histórico fuera utilizado como base para una novela en el S. XIX.
A pesar de ser un libro muy corto (176 páginas, mi edición no es la de la fotografía, no está en Goodreads) no le falta nada, no te resulta que sea un final abrupto o le falte desarrollo a la historia, ¿hubiera estado mejor si hubiera sido más larga? Puede que sí, pero Gaskell utilizaba las novelas largas para denunciar otros temas sociales, y aquí utiliza una nouvelle, y dentro de las obras de Gaskell ha pasado muy desapercibida.
October 16, 2019
3'5 ⭐
Saber que estas cosas ocurrieron de verdad me revuelve las entrañas. Es increible hasta que punto puede llegar el fanatismo religioso. Para estas personas todo se regía por la religión y a todo había que buscarle un culpable. La pobre Lois termina pagando por culpa de ese fanatismo de la época y las mentiras de su prima.
Saber que estas cosas ocurrieron de verdad me revuelve las entrañas. Es increible hasta que punto puede llegar el fanatismo religioso. Para estas personas todo se regía por la religión y a todo había que buscarle un culpable. La pobre Lois termina pagando por culpa de ese fanatismo de la época y las mentiras de su prima.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2021
In questo breve romanzo la Gaskell ci conduce nel cuore (oscuro) del New England, nella puritana e diabolica Salem di fine ‘600. Un’opera che è soprattutto un manifesto di accusa nei confronti della superstizione cieca e fanatica, ma che lancia comunque un messaggio sulla necessità del perdono. 3,5*
October 18, 2019
Esta mujer tenía el don de la escritura, en este caso nos esboza un momento vergonzoso de la historia de la humanidad, donde la envidia, los celos, la incultura, el odio, podía hacer que acabases en la tumba, previa invitación a confesar cualquier "pecadillo".
Muy recomendable.
Muy recomendable.
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