A review by emmavonb
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
4.0
"I am here because I am my mother's daughter." The Salem Witch Trials are one of the most infamous moments in American history. In Kathleen Kent's 'The Heretics Daughter' , we get an inside look as to what life was lke during that tumultuous time. Told through the eyes of Sarah Carrier, the daughter of Martha Carrier, we see the swift decline into horror that was the Salem Witch Trials, as gossip and petty disputes run rampant and lead wholly innocent and godly people to their untimely and unwarranted deaths.
Isolated and hardworking, The Carrier family are not entirely welcomed by the citizens of Andover when they move there in 1691. They unknowingly bring the pox to the community which furthers their reputation as "storm crows", bearers of ill will and bad tidings, and they quickly become the subject of gossip. Told in increments of a few months at a time, we follow Sarah Carrier as she is sent away, returned, bullied, and ultimately arrested along with the rest of her family under suspicion of witchcraft. Betrayed by her extended family and the community itself, her mother refuses to play into the hysteria of the trials, declaring her innocence in an effort to not only prove the insanity of the whole event, but to save the lives of her children. Because of this, however, Sarah is forced into a position that she should never have been in and must make decisions that will possibly save her life, but lead her mother to the gallows.
Kathleen Kent built a different world of 17th Century New England than I am used to seeing. Things were difficult and sometimes dreary, but there was also beauty, warmth and love infused through all of it. Her diligence and attention to detail in the first half of her book made the decision and half more compelling than I anticipated. The relationship Sarah and her mother have is one that I think all women can relate to; secrets our mothers keep are for the good of us, even if we do not see it. In the end, this book was about perseverance and growth, and I can't wait to read it again in the future.
Isolated and hardworking, The Carrier family are not entirely welcomed by the citizens of Andover when they move there in 1691. They unknowingly bring the pox to the community which furthers their reputation as "storm crows", bearers of ill will and bad tidings, and they quickly become the subject of gossip. Told in increments of a few months at a time, we follow Sarah Carrier as she is sent away, returned, bullied, and ultimately arrested along with the rest of her family under suspicion of witchcraft. Betrayed by her extended family and the community itself, her mother refuses to play into the hysteria of the trials, declaring her innocence in an effort to not only prove the insanity of the whole event, but to save the lives of her children. Because of this, however, Sarah is forced into a position that she should never have been in and must make decisions that will possibly save her life, but lead her mother to the gallows.
Kathleen Kent built a different world of 17th Century New England than I am used to seeing. Things were difficult and sometimes dreary, but there was also beauty, warmth and love infused through all of it. Her diligence and attention to detail in the first half of her book made the decision and half more compelling than I anticipated. The relationship Sarah and her mother have is one that I think all women can relate to; secrets our mothers keep are for the good of us, even if we do not see it. In the end, this book was about perseverance and growth, and I can't wait to read it again in the future.