Winkler has made Browne’s voice pretty well
pitch-perfect. He is obviously not a 21st Century man, but the novel is still
easy to read and moves briskly. And Browne, while flawed, is an endearing
central character, occasionally witty and ready – eventually - to admit his
mistakes. (Review by
Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)
Mark Winkler has moved into the realms of historical fiction for his latest novel, The Errors Of Dr Browne. It is a surprising choice, although he is known for moving easily between genres. He has taken as his central character and narrator a real person, Dr Thomas Browne, who in his 17th Century lifetime was a doctor, scientist, philosopher, important literary figure and coiner of words still used in modern English.
One of the oddest episodes of Browne’s life, and the one that is the subject of Winkler’s book, was his appearance as investigator and witness in a notorious witch trial in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk that led to the execution of two elderly women. Browne was invited by the man due to preside over the trial to look into the circumstances surrounding the accusations the women faced.
In the mid-17th Century, many people, probably even most people both educated and uneducated, believed in witchcraft. Even Browne, who considered himself a man of science though also a devout Christian, was torn between belief and scepticism. And, in something he would come to bitterly regret, he allowed his beliefs to be manipulated and to outweigh his doubts.
His decisions would continue to reverberate, playing a major part in the later Salem witch trials in America. (Horrifyingly, the Witchcraft Act in Britain was only repealed in 1952 after two wartime trials of fraudulent mediums).
As Winkler’s cleverly-crafted book shows very clearly, elderly, defenceless women were the main victims of witch accusations. If they upset their neighbours, or were “difficult”, they were obvious targets and laws, made and administered by men, could be bent and subverted to deal with them.
Writing in the first person when the narrator is a 17th Century character means that language becomes a huge challenge for the author. Make it too modern and the anachronisms will grate on the reader and make it unconvincing. But too much God-wottery can also be difficult to deal with.
Winkler has made Browne’s voice pretty well pitch-perfect. He is obviously not a 21st Century man, but the novel is still easy to read and moves briskly. And Browne, while flawed, is an endearing central character, occasionally witty and ready – eventually - to admit his mistakes. Margaret von Klemperer
Mark Winkler’s The Errors Of Dr Browne is published by Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-1-4859-0494-6
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