The witch trials that swept Europe and North America between the 15th and 18th centuries have long fascinated many, not least for what they tell us about the role of women at the time (many academics have observed that accused witches tended to be women whose looks or behaviour didn’t conform with the era’s narrow feminine ideal). Published today following a six-figure deal, Elizabeth Lee’s debut novel Cunning Women (Windmill) is set in Lancashire in 1620, eight years after the county was rocked by the infamous Pendle Witch Trials. And it proves that the subject of witches is as ripe for exploration as ever.

“‘Cunning women’ was a real-life term for women who made a living off their supposed magical abilities, selling herbal tinctures, love charms and other folk remedies for everyday problems,” says Stylist Loves’ deputy editor Moya Crockett. “Lee’s novel follows Sarah, a witch’s daughter who knows she’ll have to take up her mother’s trade one day. Their isolated family is viewed with deep suspicion by the local villagers – but when Sarah befriends Daniel, the local farmer’s son, she thinks another life might be possible. With a painfully unexpected ending, this is a story about loneliness, connection and female rage that fans of intensely atmospheric historical fiction will love.” £14.99, Bookshop.org