A Northumberland author has released a new historical crime thriller on England's largest, deadliest, and most corrupt witch trial.
Hexham-born A.D. Bergin's novel, The Wicked Of The Earth, sheds light on the 1650 Newcastle witch trial, where 16 accused witches were hanged.
The author said: "What happened in Newcastle dwarves the more famous cases of Pendle or in East Anglia, yet remains largely unknown.
"This is Britain’s biggest witch trial, one in which the victims come from many of the leading merchant families, and where other Newcastle women organised a mass, all-female campaign to free them.
"Theirs is a story which deserves to be far better known."
The novel explores the greed and corruption that fuelled the killings, and the mass campaign to free the accused.
Between 1649 and 1650, hundreds, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft across Northumberland and Durham.
Mr Bergin is working with other authors, historians, and heritage professionals to establish a permanent memorial for the victims on the 375th anniversary of the Newcastle executions.
He said: "I hope that the release of ‘Wicked’ helps to raise awareness of the terrible injustices which took place all across the north east.
"Even today we can take great pride in the defiance shown by the accused and the courage of the women who worked so hard to save them."
The Wicked Of The Earth will be published on November 21, with a launch event in Newcastle Castle Dungeon.
It will be available in paperback, audiobook, and Kindle versions.
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