Hour of the Witch: a Novel by Chris Bohjalian. New York:Doubleday, 2021. 400 pages *****
Seventeenth Century New England where every woman is suspected of being a witch. Twenty-four-year-old Mary Deerfield is the second wife of Tomas Deerfield, a cruel and powerful man, who rules his household with his fists. Thomas is very careful to treat his wife with kindness and respect when Catherine, the servant girl, or his daughter is present. Mary's life with Thomas becomes intolerable when he stabs her in the hand with a fork to see if she is a witch. Divorces are few in Puritan Boston, however, Mary fears for her life when Thomas is drunk and knows it is only a matter of time until he kills her. Will Mary be granted a divorce based on her injuries or will she be sent back to her angry and humiliated husband?
I have always been interested in the Salem Witch Trials and wondered what was the true story? This book is fiction and not based on any one's life story, however I suspect it is a composite of people and circumstances that occurred frequently in this time and place. Given human nature the story is totally believable and it's a wonder anyone survived. Superstition mixed with jealousy, pettiness and cruelty, fueled the flames of religious wrath. Difficult to put down once started, yet I didn't want it to end and was fearful of Mary's fate. No spoilers here, you'll have to read it to find out for yourself. Definitely add it to the top of your Reading List!
Witches
Witch Hunts in Puritan New England
Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 22 books. His work has been translated into 35 languages and become three movies and a TV series. His books have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Bookpage, and Salon. For more info, click here.
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#historicalfiction #witchcraft #puritannewenglandfiction
1 comment:
I have been wanting to read this book for awhile!
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