“This woman was one of the most impudent, scurrilous, wicked creatures of this world; and she did now throughout her whole trial discover herself to be such a one. Yet when she was asked what she had to say for herself, her chief plea was that she had led a most virtuous and holy life.” —Reverend Cotton Mather, 1692USA Today Bestselling author Heather B. Moore brings the life of her 10th … 10th great-grandmother to center stage. Susannah North Martin, accused of witchcraft in 1692, joins five women in the Salem Jail, all sentenced to death for their crimes. Amidst tragedy, Susannah finds hope and compassion as she remembers a well-loved life, and readers discover that love reaches far beyond the grave as Susannah faces the magistrates in Salem.
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Since the character is my ancestor, I can’t help to feel angry and sad about her treatment. The book answered many questions even though it was a novel.
Wonderful read!
It is terrible that this type of thing happened in early America.
The current president whose favorite words seem to be “witch hunt” has no clue what that means. Excellent, informative book. One that should make us look at accusers who just might have an ulterior motive in their accusations. Different from the usual witch books.
I like the way it was written-really informative in an original way!
I actually started reading this book with high hopes because I love the history of the Salem Witch Trials and the mysticism around it but I just could not get into this book no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to like the characters, a these people have been written about many times and I have been engaged, but I just could not. Normally time jumping is not a big deal to me but in this case I found it sometimes misplaced and confusing. I really wanted to like this book, and I rarely stop a book (i’m stubborn and will push through) but I just could not get into this one.
This story fascinated me because it was written by a tenth generation granddaughter whose grandmother was accused and hanged during the Salem witch trials. A section in the beginning traces the lineage from Susannah in 1621 until the author in 1970. I thought perhaps the story of the fate of this grandmother was passed down through the generations, but I don’t get the impression that was the case. At least not in detail. It’s probably not a bedtime story you’d want to tell your children about their ancestry. I have visited the Salem landmarks and toured the museum, but this book tugs at your heart as it blends historical events with the touching story of Susannah.
I love reading about historical events. I think it’s great that we can use these events to learn from our past mistakes. I have always been interested in the Salem Witch trials and I think that Heather Moore did a wonderful job of giving us the stories of many women who lost their lives.
Good story but too short
The Salem witch trials in the eyes of the women accused. One woman remembers her early life, falling in love, starting a family. How did this kind and ordinary woman end up in this filthy prison? Fascinating read.
Sad, but historically interesting.
This is a well-written historical novel that is based on facts. An interesting read that is very informative about the time period.
Kind of bland
Tells about a sad and disgusting part of our history.
I very much appreciated (“enjoyed” doesn’t work considering the depressing/horrifying topic) this view of the Salem witch trials from the perspective of a feisty 71-year-old woman, side by side with the view of the same woman 46 years earlier. I enjoyed getting to know Susannah in her 20s and was proud of her in her imprisonment in her 70s. I still can’t quite understand how this horror started that the testimony of accused women telling the truth was trumped by power hungry spoiled teenagers spewing nonsense. Thank goodness the people in charge didn’t have as large a soap box as Hitler.
This is a unique view of the Salem Witch trials.
Told by the 10th great grandmother of the author, it is her story of her life, family, and marriage before being accused of practicing witchcraft and arrested. It is the telling of the conditions, suffering, and bonding of cellmates, one of whom has a young daughter with her and delivers a baby in jail. The utter horror they suffer and the actions of the citizens of Salem and surrounding townships toward them are infuriating. This is actual facts with humanization by adding fictional situations! Shameful – but true!
About Susannah Martin and her trail for witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trails.
Brings back the knowledge that Witchcraft was blamed for many bad and even good things that happened in Salem. So sad that innocent people were hanged for this because of malicious rumors.
the happenings of these women were horrendous. i suppose this kind of thing really happened..i had to stop reading