'Women who cast spells and brew potions to dispel illness and fuel desire have historically been vilified as servants of the devil. Contemporary culture has, to a large degree, drained the menace and repositioned witches as figures of frivolity in TV shows such as Charmed and Bewitched and in countless YA stories. This is a problem the reader faces with Chris Womersley’s fourth novel, a commercially adventurous departure from his earlier Australian literary jaunts – is it still possible to take a story about witches seriously?' (Introduction)
'When the late writer underwent surgery for a tumour in the language centre of her brain, she faced the fear her command of English would be irrevocably damaged. '
