The Heretic's Daughter: A Novel

Overview

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She is also a natural-born storyteller, and in her first novel, she paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review. A family's conflict becomes a battle for life and death in this gripping and original first novel based on family history from a descendant of a condemned Salem witch. After a bout of smallpox, 10-year-old Sarah Carrier resumes life with her mother on their family farm in Andover, Mass., dimly aware of a festering dispute between her mother, Martha, and her uncle about the plot of land where they live. The fight takes on a terrifying dimension when reports of supernatural activity in nearby Salem give way to mass hysteria, and Sarah's uncle is the first person to point the finger at Martha. Soon, neighbors struggling to eke out a living and a former indentured servant step forward to name Martha as the source of their woes. Sarah is forced to shoulder an even heavier burden as her mother and brothers are taken to prison to face a jury of young women who claim to have felt their bewitching presence. Sarah's front-row view of the trials and the mayhem that sweeps the close-knit community provides a fresh, bracing and unconventional take on a much-covered episode. (Sept.)
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Author Information

Bio of Kathleen Kent

Kathleen Kent lives in Dallas with her husband and son. The Heretic's Daughter is her first novel. Most of the books that have influenced and touched me the most are historical fiction. When I was a child I read a lot of Dickens, Poe and H.H. Monroe. Some of my favorites from the past are "The Quincunx", by Charles Palliser, "Instance of the Fingerpost" by Iain Pears, "The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve, and "The Source" by James Mitchener. I also read everything by Annie Dillard, Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry. Currently I'm re-reading a book called "The Long Home" by William Gay who is, to me, one of the best writers in American fiction today.

Customer Reviews

• slow slow read

  Posted September 13, 2008 by nightnurse1971, kansas

  This book takes forever to get to the point. Why so many adjectives? The story sidetracked so much, it was like reading a bunch of short stories disguised as a novel.

• Great book

  Posted October 06, 2008 by WynterBird, Seattle, WA

  I loved it!

Additional Info

Imprint

Little Brown & Company

Filesize

517.24 KB

Number of Pages

352

eBook ISBN

9780316039673