A Woman Named Sellers

Witches of Pendle #2

by Sarah L. King

Twenty years after the first witch trials, is history about to repeat itself in Pendle?

Following the sudden death of her father, Jennet Sellers arrives in Barley to live with the Holgates, her relatives whom she barely knows. Grieving, and thrown into the turmoil of her new, cramped household, she finds solace in new friendships and in her attraction to the handsome, charismatic stonemason from Cumberland, William Braithwaite.

However, Jennet has a secret; a terrible, guilt-ridden secret which has haunted her since childhood. As Jennet finds herself falling in love with William, her life also begins to unravel, threatening to remove her thin veil of anonymity and reveal who she really is. Then, when a little boy starts telling tales about witches, suddenly Jennet finds that she is in the middle of a painfully familiar situation which puts not only her life at risk, but also threatens the lives and happiness of those she loves the most.

A Woman Named Sellers is a novel about love, forgiveness and atonement which asks, is it ever possible to escape your identity and your past?

Genres: Historical Fiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2016

About the author

Sarah L King writes historical fiction and contemporary mysteries which she self-publishes via her own Ethersay Publishing imprint. These include historical fiction novels, The Gisburn Witch (2015), A Woman Named Sellers (2016) and The Pendle Witch Girl (2018), all set during the Lancashire witch trials in the seventeenth century. She is also the author of two contemporary mystery novels, Ethersay (2017) and The House at Kirtlebeck End (2019). Her latest novel, The Wax Artist, was published in 2021 and is the first in a planned historical mystery series set in Georgian era Edinburgh.

She also writes historical romance novels under the name of Sadie King, and has Regency romance novels published by Harlequin Mills & Boon. For more information, please visit www.sadieking.com.

Sarah L King was born in Nottingham and raised in Lancashire. After graduating with a degree in History from Lancaster University, she moved to West Lothian, Scotland where she now lives with her husband and children. When she’s not writing, she loves long country walks, romantic ruins, Thai food and travelling with her family.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent historical fiction book. The flow of this book is similar to the first and as a result reads well while still giving the reader enough information to not fall behind or become confused.

I would love to go into the story and the characters in this review but feel I would be doing a disservice. All the characters you will come across are memorable and feel genuine. Due to reading the first book, which raised my interests within this part of history, I had an inclination of the way this novel would play out. This was the case for the most part, but there were some twists and turns that took me by surprise. Having some previous knowledge did not detract from my enjoyment of this book.

Overall I would recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction. It isn't nessisary to read the first book in this series (Witches of Pendle #1) but I would recommend it. The extra background information certainly increased my enjoyment of this installment. Saying that I would recommend the first book in its own right as it's an excellent novel too.

[Sarah King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating my book after completing the final read of the manuscript before preparing for publication. It is, of course, my own work and therefore I am completely biased. Nonetheless I am delighted with this book; it was a pleasure to write.

The book will be available in e-book and paperback very soon. I cannot wait to hear what you all think.

Sarah

[Angela Cloke-Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderfully written, exploring the life of Jennet Devine after her part in the Pendle Witch trial of 1612. Although based on historical accounts, the author weaves in a fictional story imagining a life Jennet might lead after the trial. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which delves into rural 17th century Lancashire and the effect the witch hunts had on ordinary
families.

[Fuzzy Buzzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully crafted novel.

[David King · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A Woman Named Sellers” is the 2nd novel in Sarah L King’s historical fiction series entitled “The Witches of Pendle” although it can quite easily be enjoyed as a standalone novel. As with my review of the previous novel, I shall start by informing you all that the author is my wife and I was involved in some of the initial edits of the book. Of course, I am still trying to be fair and honest in this review but I think it is only right that people know about my relationship with the author.

The story is set 22 years after the infamous 1612 Pendle Witch trials and the events of the previous novel, “The Gisburn Witch”. The main protagonist is a young woman named Jennet Sellers who is forced to move in with relatives in the village of Barley, Lancashire after the death of her father. Jennet harbours a dark secret which has left her guilt-ridden and unable to accept any form of real happiness in her life. Despite this, she soon finds herself falling in love with William, a stonemason from Cumberland. Yet, just as she begins to accept the chance of a real future with William, her secret is revealed to the world and a series of events unfold which leaves her facing a very familiar and dangerous situation from her childhood which may result in her losing her life.

The pacing seems exactly right here, with the story starting off at a much better pace than the previous novel with this pacing then ramping up along with the tension as the story progresses. In addition, this novel covers a shorter time period which meant there was both a better flow and a greater opportunity to grow the characters. Simply put, whilst I felt King did a great job with her structure of “The Gisburn Witch”, I felt it was even better this time.

In regards to the characters, well they all felt genuine and this time around I actually felt some real sympathy for the main protagonist. At times her constant self-recrimination could get a little bit irritating but I could understand why she ended up like that considering every bit of happiness seemed to be followed by disaster which she would blame herself for. I ended up feeling some real empathy for Jennet and William, the man she falls in love with. In all honesty, it got to the point that the various forms of suffering they endured left me in tears.

Overall, this is another excellent Historical Fiction novel and I think it is better than the previous novel, “The Gisburn Witch”. Whilst you don’t need to have read that previous novel, there are quite a few little Easter eggs related to it around the novel which did leave me smiling when I noticed them. If you have read the first novel, then you should pick this one up as well. If you haven’t read either then I would recommend you give them a go if you are looking for some engaging, Historical Fiction novels.

[Caroline Abernethy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The powerless woman of the 1600's

I read the first book and just had to read this the second one straight away. I have not been so affected by a story since reading Angela's Ashes. Both historical fiction books are so well written that you can easily identify with the main characters. The author builds the story to it's gut wrenching conclusion. I was dreading this story as the first book highlighted the brutal conditions of this time period in history and this book just delves even deeper. I was so upset about the cruel injustices of the time. What a brutal and difficult time people had. Living in fear of one person speaking out about another as it resulted in the gallows! This book shows another twist that just broke my heart. It was all so stacked against the normal woman of the time. Both these books give vivid details of poor justice systems, being used and abused for political, religious and personal reasons. The writer stabs you in the chest with how lowly women were, married off as property with no human rights and no power, the lowest of society. Poverty drove people to despair. Power was held by people with money and the King's word was law. Politics and religion have a large bearing on the British witch trials that eventually spread to other countries. The biggest influence though is male power and dominance over females with no rights. No matter what age a woman was, the were fair game and being a local midwife and healer made you a prime target. The upsetting part is that the imbalance of power over females still goes on, very young girls are still married off with no human rights in the world their education withheld! Read this and weep.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in this series and I was captivated from the first page of both. I had never heard of the Pendle witch trials but Sarah has woven the historical fact into stories that you will not want to put down. I read a lot of historical fiction and these books truly transport you back to Northern England in the 1600’s so you feel like you are sitting in a cottage or church pew, walking through the countryside, even languishing in a filthy prison. These books are fascinating, so interesting and also heartbreaking.
Now on to the third book!

[Mrs B · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this: would happily watch the movie

I’m not one to read fiction and enjoy it, however I loved this read. Did not want to put the book down as I was constantly wanting to know what happened next. Well written and provoked emotional emphathy with many of the main characters.
I havnt read the first book and had reviews before buying, I was sceptical about reading a “2nd” book before reading the first but I need not of been concerned.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman named Sellers Sarah L King

A great story around historical events about the Pendle witch trials I found it very moving with and fascinating facts of village life in the 1600 this the 2nd book I’m looking forward to the 3rd book in this series

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction.