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The Daylight Gate [Hardcover]

Jeanette Winterson (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 16 Aug 2012

Can a man be maimed by witchcraft?

Can a severed head speak?

Based on the most notorious of English witch-trials, this is a tale of magic, superstition, conscience and ruthless murder.

It is set in a time when politics and religion were closely intertwined; when, following the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, every Catholic conspirator fled to a wild and untamed place far from the reach of London law.

This is Lancashire. This is Pendle. This is witch country.

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Hammer (16 Aug 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099561859
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099561859
  • Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 2.1 x 20.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 16,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

If you like her other novels, you will adore this. She has done her homework... the beauty of the writing, exemplary in its pared-down simplicity. It's so seductive that by the middle I was hooked.

(Independent )

Sharp-eyed view of history... Winterson is at her best her when she's dealing with real horrors. (Observer )

This is a dazzling book. Winterson is a deft storyteller and a writer of wonderful economy. Even in a book as melodramatic as this, she manages to convey character and setting with so few words that you scarcely notice it has been done... Winterson does all that any Hammer reader would want - and probably too much for some squeamish types - as well as writing a novel of subtlety and depth. It is also, amid the blood, mud and violence, intensely poetic. The imagery of the wild land with its dark towers and possessed creatures - animal and human - underpins a story about love and death and the possibility of unseen worlds. It is one of the very few contemporary novels that I actually wished were longer. (Literary Review )

This I ought to say, is a book worth reading - utterly compulsive, thick with atmosphere and dread, but sharp intelligence too...Ultimately she combines compelling history and poetic dialogue with suspense...This rather more sophisticated story would make a particularly vivid film. (Telegraph )

Beautifully written.

(Independent on Sunday )

Book Description

A new Hammer novel, and a Top Ten bestseller in hardcover. A tale of magic, superstition, conscience and ruthless murder, by one of the UK's most acclaimed literary writers.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Short, readable, atmospheric 8 Feb 2013
By A Ryder
Format:Hardcover
I enjoyed reading this one afternoon over the Christmas holidays, so I was surprised to read the many negative reviews and wanted to restore some balance.

I freely admit I don't know a lot about the Pendle trials, and I do have a thing about historical accuracy, so this would possibly have annoyed me if I were an expert, but I have checked with a friend in the know and she advised that the case is remarkable for how few facts are established. Fiction based on fact always treads a fine line concerning truth and decency, but given that the writer has to be free to imagine his or her own story, I don't think Winterson - whose work I hadn't hitherto read - oversteps the line here at all. I do know a bit about 16th and 17th Century English history and I don't find the sexual content unlikely. By our standards this was an absurdly patriarchal and violent society after all, and these were people subsisting on the margins.

As for Alice Nutter's bi-sexuality, perhaps that is an indulgence on the author's part, but it's hardly an outrage or smear on her character to suggest it. I did wonder about the Southworths, and went back to Fraser's 'Gunpowder Plot' volumes to check, and yes, they (and the connection with Dee and Shakespeare) are an addition to the known truth, but again, hardly a heinous link. There are also objections to Alice Nutter's owning a brothel. It's a bit more tentative, in that she isn't the 'Madam', but the absentee landlady. Moral objections are beside the point: Winterson's Alice has risen thanks to learning and skill, and must continue to fend for herself. It could be argued that the prostitutes she allows room in her Thamesside home would otherwise be on the streets.

The other main criticism seems to be that the language is simple, and it is, I assume because of the Hammer branding, but again, this doesn't detract in any way from a dark and gripping tale. The writing is spare and beautiful, which is apt for a book about Pendle.

Comparisons to other fictionalised versions of the trials may be inevitable, and if you want a straightforward, sanitised version of events it sounds like 'Mist over Pendle' is the book for you, but this is an original and literary take on a very disturbing piece of history and a good read.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Discovery of Witches 7 Dec 2012
By WorkshyFop
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In 1612, ten women and two men were tried for witchcraft at Lancaster Castle. Of the accused, ten were found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. One was acquitted, and one died whilst awaiting trial. The Pendle Witch Trials have passed into folklore as one of the most bizarre and arcane incidents in English history. Arthur Miller demonstrated that witch trials and panics are fertile ground for fiction, providing a historical canvas for authors to project modern concerns onto. Thanks to the efforts of a zealous clerk, Thomas Potts, we have an unusually full account of the trials at Lancaster, which provide the basis for Jeanette Winterson's The Daylight Gate.

While much of the text remains relatively faithful to the known facts, Winterson allows herself the occasional flight of fancy, especially the incorporation of Dr Dee and Shakespeare into the narrative. Her Alice Nutter is a very modern figure, an entrepreneurial sceptic with male and female lovers. This seems to have generated some rage amongst purists, but her more fanciful notions never detract from the emotional punch of the text. Winterson's skill as a novellist is revealed most strongly by her treatment of the witches' beliefs, and by the manipulation of the starving peasant children by their worldly interrogators. The destruction of the women as they await trial in Lancaster castle's squalid dungeons is especially affecting.

At 194 double-spaced pages, The Daylight Gate feels a little insubstantial, but Winterson's narrative provides a hefty dose of drama in a short volume. The pace never lets up, as characters are drawn ever further into the mass of lies and betrayals which will ensure their downfall. The characters are well drawn, with none falling into stereotype, and we see multiple viewpoints. Subplots engaging with Elizabethan mysticism and the Jesuits add further spice to the text.

The Pendle Witch Trials are a fascinating piece of English history, and Winterson's novella is a great starting point.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The Daylight Gate 23 Jan 2013
By Mrs Meg A Harrison
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Daylight Gate
An interesting but difficult read, not for the delicate of stomach. It is the first time I have ever read any of Jeanette Winterson's work - but certainly not the last - and certainly I hope to do more factual research into the facts of the people involved, charges and trial of the Pendle Witches. It did muse me to see how many of the names are used by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett in 'Good Omens'!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Winterson-Lite, but still good
Graham Greene used to separate his work into his "serious" novels and what he called "entertainments". Read more
Published 22 hours ago by Humphrey Plugg
3.0 out of 5 stars Messy and muddled (review contains spoilers)
I've loved a lot of Winterson's writing, and have enjoyed other books in this Hammer series - but sadly this combination just doesn't work here. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Roman Clodia
5.0 out of 5 stars Mistress of her craft.
Ghastly and poetic in equal measure.One of the most extraordinary things I have read-Winterson is mistress of her craft and has profound understanding. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Sixpomegranateseeds
3.0 out of 5 stars a bit too gory for me but she makes for a powerful read
It has scenes of really horrific violence, but i feel the author uses the theme of sexual violence and sexuality to really highlight these poor womens powerlessness in what were... Read more
Published 20 days ago by M. M. Charles
4.0 out of 5 stars A cracking witchy yarn, wish i'd read ii at hallowweeen!
I'd read some pretty unfavorable reviews about this book but stupidly bought the book before I read them. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Rhapsody In Blonde
1.0 out of 5 stars Ms Winterson Sells Her Soul
I am curious as to how this commission may have come about. An Arrow Books
publication in association with Hammer (as in Hammer Films), the jacket
indicates that the book... Read more
Published 1 month ago by The Wolf
2.0 out of 5 stars The Daylight Gate
I found this an annoying mix of fact and fiction, very lightweight. Certainly not a book I would recommend either to the keen fiction reader or interested occultist.
Published 1 month ago by Robbo
2.0 out of 5 stars Such a wasted opportunity
The Daylight Gate, like Helen Dunmore's The Greatcoat, is a Hammer title, and part of their series of horror-themed novels by literary authors. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joanne Sheppard
4.0 out of 5 stars The Daylight Gate
A vivid re-telling of the story of the Pendle Witches. A much harsher, probably more realistic, world is depicted than that of "Mist Over Pendle". A compelling story.
Published 1 month ago by tina price
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
This captivating story, inspired by the Pendle witch trials, brings to life some powerful characters who are full of spirit, spite and sorcery. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Em.
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