The witch of Prague

by F. Marion Crawford

This is a book about a witch who is not old and ugly as you would normally think a witch would be. She uses her powers for herself and makes slaves by hypnotizing them with her multi-colored eyes. She is not an evil person, but she does use her powers unethically. Her need for love pushes her to have dealings with a wizard that she comes to regret.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Witches, Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Paranormal

351 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1891

About the author

Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels. He was born at Bagni di Lucca, Italy. In 1879 he went to India, where he studied Sanskrit and edited the Allahabad Indian Herald. Returning to America he continued to study Sanskrit at Harvard University for a year, contributed to various periodicals, and in 1882 produced his first novel, Mr Isaacs. This book had an immediate success, and its author's promise was confirmed by the publication of Doctor Claudius: A True Story (1883). After a brief residence in New York and Boston, in 1883 he returned to Italy, where he made his permanent home. He also published the historical works, Ave Roma Immortalis (1898), Rulers of the South (1900) renamed Sicily, Calabria and Malta in 1904, and Gleanings from Venetian History (1905). The Saracinesca series is perhaps known to be his best work, with the third in the series, Don Orsino, set against the background of a real estate bubble, told with effective concision. A fourth book in the series, Corleone, was the first major treatment of the Mafia in literature.

Reviews

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been a lot of great character names throughout literary history like Undine Spragg from Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country. I say this because I thought of the name Undine the entire time I read this book because in this book we meet Unorna, and that's just fantastic.

I read this book for my spooky reads of October (though am just a smidge behind on my reviews...), and I'm so glad to finally get around to it. I knew going into it that it would take place in Prague (because the word is in the title, derp), and many who have been following me a while here knows I get some a boner over anything related to Czechlandia. I have not been to Prague yet, but I have a deep fascination with the area, part of my family having come over from Czechoslovakia back in the long-ago times (my grandfather was young and learned English when he got here, and then had to essentially teach most of his family). I try to keep up with current events, and I know that things are pretty fucking shitty again right now, but I still really want to visit the Czech Republic. It's one of my bucket list destinations.

So any chance I have to be able to read a book written about the area, whether by a Czech or Slovakian author, or just by someone who also has a deep fascination with the history and culture, I want to eat it up. I have a couple bookshelves filled with books on the subject, many of which I have not yet read because I want to take my time with it, which is totally ridiculous because books are meant to be read.

The witch of Prague, as the title goes, is Unorna herself. The name "Unorna" means "woman of February". She was born in a Leap Year, on February 29 which of course means she's a witch. Unorna falls in love with a man referred to throughout the story as The Wanderer, but he's in love with this other woman, Beatrice. Of course Unorna can help the Wanderer and Beatrice find each other again, since they cannot seem to find each other on their own, and this was written in 1891 when Facebook didn't exist yet; but where would be the sport in that? And when you're in love with a man, the last thing you want to do is help him hook up with this other woman, amirite?

The way Unorna uses her "powers" made me think more than once of Svengali in George du Maurier's Trilby which, in other words, means it is done with questionable morals and ethics. This leads to a great read, but man, do you feel for the characters once in a while.

I've read complaints that this is a boring book, and I do get it. There are periods of loooooong descriptive writing as those 19th century writers were keen on doing. It does get dry at times. But I was committed to the story and found bits of it (primarily in the first half of the book) rather spooky after all. And it takes a bit to spook me.

I know I have a copy of this along with some of Crawford's other writing, and I will eventually check those other stories out as well. I admit that the primary interest behind this book is because of the Prague connection, and then Crawford won me over with the witch's name being Unorna. But I am glad I did read it, and am sorry I waited so long to do so. I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone, per se, especially based on some of the other reviews I've seen. It's not a perfect novel, but it's a well-crafted one, I feel, and a wonderful addition to spooky-lit overall.

[Carol Spears · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those very very descriptive books. Not a bad tale, but a lot of words in the telling.

[FerroN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Riletto dopo trent’anni, il romanzo di questo autore semisconosciuto mi ha mostrato l’immagine chiara e nitida, quasi riflessa in uno specchio, di un altro me stesso; molto cambiato, se non come persona, quantomeno in fatto di gusti come lettore.
Convinto dalla descrizione contenuta nel risvolto di copertina, l’avevo acquistato appena uscito nelle librerie; mi era piaciuto molto. Col passare del tempo però avevo dimenticato la trama e quasi tutti i personaggi; tutti tranne Unorna, la bellissima giovane dai capelli biondi e gli occhi di diverso colore (uno grigio, l’altro marrone), chiamata “La strega” per via delle sue straordinarie facoltà ipnotiche. E Praga in versione invernale, scura e gelida, silenziosa e nebbiosa, mi aveva lasciato immagini indelebili. Tutto il resto dimenticato.
Dimenticata una storia per nulla avvincente (quasi un’impresa, considerati i cliché e gli argomenti trattati), dimenticati personaggi dallo spessore paragonabile solo a quello di sagome di cartone (tra i protagonisti: lo stereotipato scienziato-stregone Kejork Arabian, il folle innamorato Israel Kafka e l’insulso “Errante”) e gratuite considerazioni razziali (sulle quali non vale la pena sprecare parole).
Al termine di questa seconda lettura mi sono ritrovato tra le mani, sorpreso e deluso, un libro di scarso valore: prolisso, ripetitivo (l’impressione è che l’autore non l’abbia neppure riletto prima di darlo alle stampe). L’unico elemento interessante è rappresentato dalla lotta senza fine nell’animo di Unorna, dal dilemma tra la frenesia di arrivare a conquistare l’oggetto amato (quel pezzo di legno dell’Errante) in modo poco sportivo tramite i suoi “superpoteri” e il desiderio di essere amata per ciò che è come persona e donna. Insomma, la “malvagia” Unorna si dimostra più umana delle seriose e moraliste figurine che la circondano.

Tra Ottocento e Novecento, Francis Marion Crawford era un autore di grande successo, ricco e famoso (anche in Italia); pur restando nell’ambito della letteratura d’intrattenimento, era ritenuto uno scrittore di qualità. I suoi soggetti in genere aderivano alla moda del tempo (in La Strega di Praga: ipnotismo, ricerca scientifica dell’immortalità, qualche pregiudizio razziale e altre cianfrusaglie): perciò non è un caso se oggi i suoi romanzi non figurano tra i “classici” (ma in futuro, chissà…).

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the novel, not the anthology of short stories it must at times be included in. I only have a copy of the title feature.

The Witch of Prague was certainly an interesting story. The main storyline with its supernatural elements was good, but so too was the secondary plot, that being Keyork Arabian and his quest for immortality. The latter I think was left a little incomplete, unless I just missed it in the reading. I found the narrative to be long-winded and, at times, excessively wordy. Far too many descriptive scenes and monologues about feelings and whatnot. As a result, I often found myself skimming. The characters were really well-drawn, quirky, and colourful, though, with the exception of the Wanderer. Again, maybe I missed something with the skimming I did, but I found the Wanderer to be less distinguished. We really know nothing of his background, other than the fact that he has traversed the world searching for the woman he loves, and he didn't seem to have a ton of personality.

If the story had have been pared back a little bit and written a bit more concisely, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I suppose some of that has to do with the time period and the author's writing style, though, which I don't really want to complain about. Just my personal preference.

[Erin Moxam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about exactly what the title says it is about, though the plot concerns the witch in question falling for a dude and trying to possess his love by nefarious magical means. This wasn't a bad story, it was interesting. I like reading these old books once in a while, it's such a different style. I read this one mostly in small chunks, what I both enjoy and dislike about a lot of these older books is the pages and pages of sheer text, the unbroken flow of description, exposition, interior monologue, you name it; they scoff at your white space. Some of it is really good and powerful and few writers today take that many words to describe something, few readers today would likely have the patience for it. It can be a little much at times, but it's also an experience. I would say this book is worth reading purely for these truly impressive feats of exposition and description, though maybe just a small dose at a time.

[Michelle Arostegui · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Wanderer stood in the midst of the throng, erect, taller than the men near him, holding his head high, so that a little of the light from the memorial torches reached his thoughtful, manly face, making the noble and passionate features to stand out clearly, while losing its power of illumination in the dark beard and among the shadows of his hair.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A seemingly dark fantasy that draws you in page by page. To a world and setting that is, not new not old just is.I Loved it.

[Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried, man. I wanted to give this a shot. But when the Wanderer is going through a street in Prague and I'm hit with this huge wall of text philosophising about love and suffering and bit players in the Iliad and Shakespeare and the thread of whatever point was being made has been utterly lost in all the purple prose.

Do not read the Witch of Prague. Maybe see if Wikipedia has a synopsis instead.

[Brian Cohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story wise it’s a 3-4 with some beautiful writing and interesting characters, but 1 star for some truly shocking anti-semitism that can’t be explained away by being written in 1890.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK

Not what I was expecting. Give it a try it may work for you. Enjoy reading or listening 🎶 to different types of novels 🔰😀 2022

[Steve Maddux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copiousness

Well, I've read it, and I believe I can say I enjoyed it. Particularly interesting, one could say, for 1) what a late nineteenth-century writer might have imagined hypnotism capable of, and 2) a tourist's view of Prague in the same period ("Winter in Prague is but one long, melancholy dream"). —I believe I can say fairly that the two wicked characters ("Unorma" and "Keyork Arabian") are considerably more interesting than the two upstanding characters. —The experience of reading this book was curious in a particular regard. It would not be true to say that it was a case of "too many words," but it was one of an unremitting abundance, an endless "surcroît," of words. So many words to get through, whether it was one of the characters, or the narrator, speaking! Modern fiction is much sparer, such that, if I have read too hastily or have allowed too much time to elapse since the last reading, I find myself perplexed, not in possession of all the necessary facts; but with this work I had the impression that I could jump into the text anywhere and feel completely at ease, buoyed up by this author's unceasing narrative fountain. –For an excellent overview of F. Marion Crawford, see the chapter on him by Mark van Doren in the latter's The American Novel, available here: http://www.bartleby.com/187/13.html.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The note I left myself after reading this is: not to my taste, really.

[Hon Lady Selene [on a hiatus] · Rating 1 out of 5]

*yawns*
DNF at 17%.