The Red Witch
By Jenna Kostet
STORYTEL AWARDS WINNER
Historical novel about a strong-willed woman, a healer who was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death.
The year is 1635. Valpuri Kinni, a woman from Courland in western Latvia, is thrown into the river in Turku. The trial by water is used to determine her guilt or innocence: if she sinks she is innocent, but if she floats she is a witch. Valpuri has travelled a long way to Finland, but there doesn’t seem to be a corner in the world where she can live in peace without accusations of witchcraft.
Valpuri can read spells and use herbs to cure the ailments of both people and livestock, but churchmen and townspeople only see her as a woman who has sinned and been tricked by the devil into unnatural acts. In the 17th century, maleficium is a sin, and witchcraft is a crime punishable by death.
Based on historical details found in various archival sources, The Red Witch is the story of a stubborn, outspoken and eccentric woman who does not adapt to her role in society. Her story is as timely today as it was nearly four hundred years ago.
Reading Material:
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 15 pp.
Synopsis
Publishing information
Awards & nominations
Awards
2025
Storytel Awards (Fiction)
Nominations
2025
Young Aleksis Prize
Reviews
"The winner of the Fiction category is a work with a story and narrator that are seamlessly intertwined. The reader is drawn into a strange world by the narrator's pleasant and clear interpretation, whose broad cast of characters is subtly and believably portrayed. This world, the dark and mysterious Finland of the past, drew the jury in from the very beginning of the story and held its grip until the end. The author's deep knowledge of history is convincing. The jury was touched by the detail in which the book describes the treatment of animals and calls for their rights. Another topical theme that appealed to the jury was the status of individuals who deviate from the norm - just as hundreds of years ago, marginalised people are still persecuted around the world today."
“The strong historical depiction and Kostet’s flowing and unpretentious text immerse the reader into the events of the book.”
“Beautiful...fascinating...”
”Jenna Kostet’s new novel is a fascinating depiction of how witchcraft arises in Valpuri Kinni’s life, both as an identity and as a social stigma.”
“Jenna Kostet skilfully constructs historical imagery into her novel to render Valpuri’s landscape vividly to the reader’s eyes.”
”A consistently strong historical portrayal of a time and a person.”
