Witch Child is a novel for older children/young adults that was first published in the UK in 2000. I bought a first edition back then and have reread it many times; I enjoy historical fiction set during the seventeenth century anyway, and this immediately appealed as soon as I picked it up in the bookshop.
After her grandmother is executed as a witch, Mary Newbury is forced to flee first to the countryside and then across the sea to the New World in order to escape persecution. Mary and her grandmother had made a living as healers using age-old skills and knowledge of herbalism to look after the people in their village, and it was this knowledge that had led to their accusation. When things start to go wrong in America Mary is again forced to flee, but she falls in with some natives and is honoured by them for her skills as a healer rather than despised. The contrast between the life of the settlers and the life of the Native Americans is fascinating and the tensions between the two are beautifully drawn, with Mary moving from one life to another.
Witch Child is an absolutely beautiful book, as is the sequel, Sorceress, which deals with a modern-day girl who is intrigued by Mary's life. I'm now a big fan of Celia Rees's novels and have been buying the hardback editions as soon as they are published - it's not possible to be patient for the paperbacks! I have to admit to being a massive fan of the photograph on the original cover (above); it was the perfect choice as you can believe that this girl really could be Mary, and indeed reference is made to this picture by the protagonist of the sequel so apparently Celia Rees was suitably impressed too!
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