A Sure Cure for Witchcraft
A Sure Cure for Witchcraft
“Do not fret, Lilli. Gardens can be replaced,” said Alisz. She took the trampled basket from Lilli and attempted to straighten the handle.
“But Alisz, all your work…your healing plants! They will be hard to replace.”
“I have suffered other setbacks, some far greater than this. It is the price we sometimes pay when we follow our true nature. You must remember that for everything we experience in life there is a reason. Have faith and know the time is coming when people will no longer fear the things they do not understand. And when that time comes, there will be no need for secret gardens.”
“But Alisz this is not fair. How can they be so stupid?” A breeze caused the leaves on the trees to quake. Lilli struggled to hold back tears. She did not want Alisz to see how weak she was.
“Fear will govern the heart if we let it, Lilli. It causes people to act in appalling ways. You must not worry, though. The garden will come back to life. Everything does in its own time.” Alisz drew in a deep, cleansing breath.
Just then, hope poured through Lilli’s veins. “You mean there is some incantation?” she said. But of course, Alisz would know what to do. She always did.
“No. I’m afraid nothing so mystical. I have seeds in my stillroom. We shall simply start over again, in another location. I shall have to find a better hiding place is all.”
“But that will take many months.”
“Then we will require patience,” said Alisz calmly as she began the journey back home. As she always did, Alisz sounded optimistic about the future. Lilli had rarely, if ever, heard her complain. But to lose her garden…it was a big loss. These plants did not grow readily in the wild. They were the ones that some people called witches’ plants, the very reason she had to grow them in secret.
“We should go,” said Alisz, turning away from her trampled garden.
Lilli is a young girl growing up in Wurttemberg in the mid 1750’s. Even as a young child, she had a kinship with Alisz, and it has only grown stronger as Alisz has been teaching Lilli about plants and their medicinal properties. But, not long ago, these wise women were seen as witches, and the distrust continues. Lilli’s own father is one who hates any sign of witchcraft, and he tries to forbid the friendship of Lilli and Alisz. When Lilli turns 13, her father announces to the family that he has made plans for the family to move to the New World. Faced with this dilemma, Lilli and Alisz promise to be soul friends. Neither time nor distance will break this special bond between them. In Nova Scotia, centuries later, Lilly and Alice again encounter one another and realize their relationship truly has continued.
Most of the story centres on the Lilli of the 1700’s, a young girl who is bright and willing to learn and who hopes to help others once she has acquired healing powers. Despite the anger of her father and the misgivings of her mother, Lilli follows her own direction. Alisz is an excellent role model, teaching her protegee to be strong and patient and brave when faced with life’s obstacles.
Other characters help bring the plot to life, whether they are the patients treated by Alisz and Lilli, Lilli’s family members, or the mobs which ruin Alisz’s garden and later attempt to burn her home and discourage, if not kill, her. Through these various lenses, Best is able to bring to life a time and place which will be unfamiliar to her young readers.
Another section of the novel where history truly comes alive is the time when Lilli and her family are on the Atlantic making their way to the New World. Readers will feel firsthand the cramped discomfort of the moving ship and will smell the odours of human beings kept in a very small space for a very long time. Even the food is described, adding to the misery. Passengers have babies, become ill and die during their difficult voyage into the unknown.
There is an element of the magical or supernatural in the novel when Best describes attitudes toward witches in the 1700’s. Many of them are women who understand and respect the natural world around them and are able to use remedies foreign to the medical establishment of the time. The strength and bravery of these women is a major theme of the novel. The other supernatural plot is that of the Lilly of modern day Nova Scotia and her friend Alice who eventually understand their connection through time and space with the earlier pair. Although the novel jumps from one time period to the other, there is never any confusion in the minds of readers. The modern day Lilly and Alice are interesting reflections of what we’ve learned about their former selves and show the power of friendship.
Laura Best is a renowned author with many young adult novels to her credit. This particular book is featured in CBC Books’ 22 YA books to watch for in Fall 2021. Filled with amazing characters, A Sure Cure for Witchcraft is an interesting and exciting story which spans centuries, opens up a historical era for young readers and well deserves a place in schools and libraries across the country.
Ann Ketcheson, a retired teacher-librarian and high school teacher of English and French, lives in Ottawa, Ontario.