Of the Anna Thalbergs, History has produced a whole list; Wikipedia even has a page dedicated to them. Women (and men too) accused of witchcraft and condemned to be burned alive.
We find ourselves here in Germany, in the 16e and XVIIe centuries. Anna Thalberg was denounced by a neighbor, anxious to see the flame extinguished that this red-haired woman had kindled, since her arrival in the village, in the eyes of men – and her husband in particular. She is therefore taken away by the soldiers of the Inquisition, armed with an arrest warrant from the bishop, and imprisoned while awaiting trial. The torture inflicted on her in prison increases in violence as she refuses to confess guilt.
In these passages which would otherwise have been unbearable to read, the pen of great beauty of this young Mexican author is revealed, whose first novel won a prestigious prize in Spanish-speaking literature (the Mauricio-Achar prize). Unsurprisingly, the justice of the time will take its course; no twists either, apart from a little unexpected at the very end. Nevertheless, we will still have had a glimpse of the great darkness for which the Church was responsible in the worst hours of Christianity.
Anna Thalberg
Eduardo Sangarcía (translated from Spanish by Marianne Millon)
The People
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