THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER

THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER
By Kathleen Kent
Little, Brown and Company, 2008
ISBN 0-316-02448-8
Book Review by George R. Pasley

My ancestors were among the group that settled Salem, so even though they left by the time of the Witch Trials, this was a book I had to read. Also, my interest in the history of theology in America made the tile of this book somewhat enticing to me.

The Heretic’s Daughter is a historical novel written by a direct descendant of one of the women executed for witchcraft, one Martha Carrier. The author has painstakingly researched all the recorded history of the trials, as well the lifestyles and culture of their times, making Heretic’s Daughter not merely interesting reading, but educational as well.

Of course, much of the novel is conjecture, but it is conjecture based on historical evidence. It does much to explain what happened, without excusing any of it. The novel portrays the corruption of the theocracy that was early colonial New England, while at the same time portraying the faith of those few who had a more benevolent view of God and a more compassionate leaning towards humanity.

Of particular interest is how the author was able to weave into the narrative the extreme pressure for land that was placed on the region by a rapidly growing population, the threats imposed by increased resistance by Native Americans, and how those two variables played into the fires of fear that were fanned by accusations of witchcraft.

The novel is a narrated by a nine year old daughter of Martha Carrier, Sarah Carrier, who was herself jailed on charges of witchcraft and forced to testify against her mother. The novel captures the normal tension between mother and daughter, and in a wonderful way offers a picture of two women who managed to bind themselves back together despite suffering together an ordeal that defied every notion of goodness residing within our human nature.

George R. Pasley
February 27, 2009