The Witch (Post 138)
The Witch (1987), dates for the time before witches became unpopular subjects for school readers. This little story, though, told in rhyme (something else that later became unpopular) is less about witches than about perception and hearsay. Children tell one another tales of the witch that lives in our street... and add that various children can attest to the truth of each assertion because... "X has, (seen this), well, he nearly has, at least he..."
The story culminates in the children convincing themselves that "the witch that lives in our street has cast a spell on Jan. "We know she has. We're sure she has. That's why she calls her.... Gran."
It's not only the subject that dates this story. How many children are called Jan these days? And how bizarre that I can quote the last stanza over thirty years after writing the story?
About the Blog
The story culminates in the children convincing themselves that "the witch that lives in our street has cast a spell on Jan. "We know she has. We're sure she has. That's why she calls her.... Gran."
It's not only the subject that dates this story. How many children are called Jan these days? And how bizarre that I can quote the last stanza over thirty years after writing the story?
About the Blog
Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)
The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.
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