Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch

A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2021

‘Riveting’ Margaret Atwood

‘I loved this book intensely‘ Lauren Groff

The plague is spreading. The hundred year war is beginning. Katharina Kepler is believed to be a witch.

Known for her herbal remedies and successful children – among them Johannes, Imperial Mathematician and author of the laws of planetary motion – Katharina’s life is changed by an accusation of witchcraft. Facing financial ruin, torture and even execution, she tells her side of the story. Witty, engaging and vividly imagined, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch draws on historical documents to illuminate a society undone by collective aggression and hysterical fear – a narrative with true resonance for today.

‘Darkly funny … Her prose, which recalls Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, is light, pared back and subtly archaic’ Financial Times

‘Superbly voiced … funny’ Telegraph

‘A magical brew of absurdity and brutality‘ Washington Post

‘Galchen expertly weaves together a story told from multiple perspectives, showing how easy it is for a mob mentality to take hold in a climate of fear and ignorance when a woman simply exists outside of the norm‘ New York Times