Set amidst the religious struggles of the 17th century, this is the story of a young minister's return to the town of his birth. There he finds a coven of Satan worshippers and falls deeply in love with one of their victims in a struggle for right and wrong.
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'Buchan knew that you can't buck the consequences of your actions, and that your life is what you make of it. Perhaps his peculiarly Scottish combination of Romanticism and Calvinism - daring living and high thinking - is due to return to fashion.' - The Independent Magazine
--This text refers to the
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About the Author
John Buchan (1875-1940), had a long and successful literary and public career. He was educated in Glasgow, where his father was a Free Church minister in the Gorbals, but his childhood holidays were spent in the Scottish border country. After graduating at Glasgow University, Buchan took a scholarship to Oxford where he wrote his first two historical novels while still an undergraduate. With interests in law and journalism, he worked for the British High Commission in South Africa at the end of the Boer War. Returning to London in 1903, he eventually became a director of Thomas Nelson the publishers. Buchan worked for the Ministry of Information during WWI, and later wrote a substantial history of the conflict. He became a Tory MP for the Scottish Universities from 1927 to 1935, in which year he was appointed Governor-General of Canada as Lord Tweedsmuir.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Hardcover
some really really great descriptions here, of forest and sabbaths. the greatest i have read in fact. a priest tries to persuade his congregation to become good christians. some worship ancient religions. there is a coven performing rituals in the woods. if only Buchan would have sticked to that. but no. intrigues, a love story, doubts, and worst of all: another story completely different than this is formed, and this story is boring. for political reasons the priest needs to defend an action. and that destroys the previous story. in the end it all becomes a mediocre blur.
Format:Paperback
A good, engaging read. Well developed characters and an excellent insight into a peculiar time of history. Also, a healthy examination of the religious doctrines and culture that define the Scottish Presbyterian presence in what is now referred to as the Reformed Faith.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Witch Wood
Jan 27 2000
By Michael E. Marshall
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
A good, engaging read. Well developed characters and an excellent insight into a peculiar time of history. Also, a healthy examination of the religious doctrines and culture that define the Scottish Presbyterian presence in what is now referred to as the Reformed Faith.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Good
May 8 2005
By R. Albin
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Buchan is best known today as the author of the espionage thriller, The 39 Steps, though more people have probably seen the Hitchcock movie version than read the book. Readers expecting something similar to 39 Steps or Buchan's other thrillers will be disappointed by Witch Wood. This is, however, a better book than the thrillers. Buchan patterned Witch Wood after Robert Louis Stevenson historical novels like Kidnapped or The Master of Ballantrae, books which take a human issue and the historical setting seriously. Set in 17th century lowland Scotland, the hero of Witch Wood is a young and idealistic Presbyterian minister. This book, which has adventure elements, is essentially a story of conflicts of conscience faced by the hero. Buchan was the son of a Presbyterian minister, had a strong interest in church history, and at one point in his public career, was directly involved in the affairs of the Church of Scotland. I suspect as well that elements are based on his own boyhood. While aspects of the plot are a bit contrived and some parts anachronistic, Buchan really does well in making something human and interesting out of the doctrinal politics and theology of Presbyterianism at this time.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
C. S. Lewis said: "That's the way to do it"
Feb 27 2005
By Extollager
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
C. S. Lewis liked this novel so much that he sent the author a fan letter, stating his appreciation for Buchan's novels but speaking especially of his gratitude for Witch Wood. Lewis commended the skilful buildup of atmosphere. You can find this Lewisian nugget in Janet Adam Smith's John Buchan and His World.
As for myself - - I suppose I have read this novel three times, with much enjoyment.
As for myself - - I suppose I have read this novel three times, with much enjoyment.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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