Finished reading this morning:
THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER by Kathleen Kent, 2008.
This is a story of the witchcraft trials at Salem, MA in 1692, as told by Sarah Carrier, the 11 year old daughter of convicted witch Martha Carrier. Very well researched, with lots of detail about life and customs in colonial New England, hardships, sicknesses, superstititions, religious persecution, Indian raids, etc. Interesting bits on readying fields for planting, how they harvested crops, use of scarecrows, treating a sick cow, making clothes, etc. Her descriptions of the horrors of prison for the accused witches is really eye-opening; what those people went through, it's hard to imagine how any survived it. Even after being cleared by the governor, many could not leave prison because they couldn't pay their debt to the jailer. It's an extremely dark and intense narrative, more about the Carrier family than any single member--Kent brings out the divisions within the family over inheritance, personalities, old grudges, secrets, and the whole idea that Martha was even accused of witchery by her own brother-in-law is appalling. Kent's characters were real people. It's disturbing and frightening that mass hysteria caused a whole population to be in the peril she describes so well. My only complaint of the book is that it did not truly focus on any one character throughout as it should have. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Salem trials, though.
THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER by Kathleen Kent, 2008.
This is a story of the witchcraft trials at Salem, MA in 1692, as told by Sarah Carrier, the 11 year old daughter of convicted witch Martha Carrier. Very well researched, with lots of detail about life and customs in colonial New England, hardships, sicknesses, superstititions, religious persecution, Indian raids, etc. Interesting bits on readying fields for planting, how they harvested crops, use of scarecrows, treating a sick cow, making clothes, etc. Her descriptions of the horrors of prison for the accused witches is really eye-opening; what those people went through, it's hard to imagine how any survived it. Even after being cleared by the governor, many could not leave prison because they couldn't pay their debt to the jailer. It's an extremely dark and intense narrative, more about the Carrier family than any single member--Kent brings out the divisions within the family over inheritance, personalities, old grudges, secrets, and the whole idea that Martha was even accused of witchery by her own brother-in-law is appalling. Kent's characters were real people. It's disturbing and frightening that mass hysteria caused a whole population to be in the peril she describes so well. My only complaint of the book is that it did not truly focus on any one character throughout as it should have. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Salem trials, though.
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