An excellent novel. I had been wanting to read this for some time, but finally bought it and devoured it!
It had been my impression that this was a book of history. In a way that's true, as it's based on an historical event - the forced conversion of the Isle of Eire to Catholicism. But what the book is really about is the heroism of a few particular Irish women - the first victims and perhaps last defenders of the matriarchal pagan faith, the Wiccan. And whereas the abrahamic religions are all quite male-oriented, the women have been and most often are the first to suffer.
This is a very feminist novel. All the men who pass through are quite secondary. Even their chief persecutor, whose role is central to the novel, is referred to most often in the second person. This is understandable in the context that the holders of the old faith are also a product of a matriarchal faith, where women are the holders and the manifestation of the greater Secrets of Life.
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