Apparently, the author of this novel, Mark Winkler, writes each new book he comes up with in a different style and genre, tackling a completely different subject in each one.
I have not come across any of his novels before, but The Errors of Doctor Browne is centred around a trial of two accused “Witches” in Bury St Edmonds in England in March 1662, and it is just as the title states – an account of the errors committed by Doctor Thomas Browne, who was called in by the presiding magistrate to be an “inquisitor” pre-trial, presenting evidence that supports the feelings of the court.
If you’re looking for an entertaining and light-hearted read, The Errors of Doctor Browne is not the book for you. If, however, you are interested in English history, with special emphasis on witchcraft, then you should find this novel a quite fascinating insight into the Seventeenth Century, and the way that trials were conducted. In this instance, where witchcraft is suspected, anyone can accuse anyone else of nefarious practices, and the onus is on the accused to disprove the accusations, a near-impossible task for the two uneducated women in the dock.
One of the interesting things about this novel is that Doctor Browne was a real figure, and the joint trial of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender was a true event, uncovered after some exhaustive research by the author. Browne was a Doctor of Physick, and a rather prolific author of medical journals. He is credited with coining around 700 neologisms which found their way into everyday usage of the English language – words such as equitable, migrant, pathology and suicide are all his creations, among many others.
The moody tale presents several arguments of logic, written in olde English style and with words of the period, for example:
“So you have
the sound components of a syllogism, then, but from them you have drawn an
unsound conclusion. Which is, I might add, a failing of deductive reasoning,
where the generalised propositions may well be true, but the relationship
between them erroneously drawn: that all birds have wings is generally true;
that all butterflies have wings is generally also true, but to deduce from
these premises that all birds are therefore butterflies – well, you can see how
even indisputable truths might easily birth falsities if they are tied together
erroneously.”
Strangely enough, this 1662 event involves issues that still trouble the world today, such as fake news, religious abuse and the persecution of women in a male-dominated society. Being a man of science, Doctor Browne is certainly not a believer in superstition, but much as he tries to present unbiased and scientific evidence to the court, he is tricked into a path of evidence that supports the local Magistrate’s belief that the two accused be found guilty as charged.
Grim reading, indeed, but a fascinating insight into the times. – Barry Meehan
The Errors of Doctor Browne is published by Penguin Fiction. ISBN: 978-1-48590-494-6
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