The Heretic's Daughter: A Novel

A fascinating fictional account of life during the Salem witch trials based on facts and family folklore from the author's ancestry. Written from the point of view of the 10 year old daughter of an accused woman sentenced to death, the book provides a eerily realistic peek into what life with the Puritans must have been like during one the most haunting historic events in our country.

loved it! the historical accounts were great. Hard to believe this kind of horror actually happened, not to mention the insanity of the masses....brainwashing and superstition on such a wide-scale. Martha Carrier's life and trials were real, not the fictitious work of the author. Great read.

It's a dark and icky story about a dark and icky time. I felt the character of Sarah wasn't well drawn for a 9 to 11 year old. Her actions would have been more probable for a teenager of that era. The secrets about witches shared by the cousin were a very mechanical way to bring them into the story. I don't think an 11 year-old puritan girl would know those things even in...more

It's a dark and icky story about a dark and icky time. I felt the character of Sarah wasn't well drawn for a 9 to 11 year old. Her actions would have been more probable for a teenager of that era. The secrets about witches shared by the cousin were a very mechanical way to bring them into the story. I don't think an 11 year-old puritan girl would know those things even in that dark time. Additionally, Dr. Ames is described as a young man in his thirties. That wasn't young in those days. It was an okay read.   hide

Kathleen Kent has done a very good job documenting this era of our country's history and weaving it into an insightful story giving us a a look into what it must have been like to live during that time. The first part of this book lays the groundwork by describing the events leading up to the incarceration of the family members. However, the story didn't really "take off" for...more

Kathleen Kent has done a very good job documenting this era of our country's history and weaving it into an insightful story giving us a a look into what it must have been like to live during that time. The first part of this book lays the groundwork by describing the events leading up to the incarceration of the family members. However, the story didn't really "take off" for me until the family members found themselves actually jailed awaiting trial. I liked it - but it's a bit of a hard read because of the language used during that time in history.   hide