A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history–the Salem witch trials. Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she … can’t refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest–to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge. As the pieces of Deliverance’s harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem’s dark past then she could have ever imagined. Written with astonishing conviction and grace, “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane” travels seamlessly between the witch trials of the 1690s and a modern woman’s story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation.
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This book is one of my favorite books I have ever read. Recommended by a friend, I picked it up at my library and immediately, I couldn’t put it down. I know the author is not rated highly, and even this on Goodreads wasn’t rated the highest. The critics say that there is no one singular genre. I personally like that the book can be a historical …
This is my first Katherine Howe novel that I have read. I found it engrossing, and a very quick read for me. The books follows a girl named Connie while she is finishing her dissertation for college, all along while cleaning out her grandmother’s home for her to sell, per her mother’s request. The home is very old, and has since been entwined and …
Connie Goodwin spent her adolescent and young adult life scorning the “new age” atmosphere in which her mother, Grace, raised her. The study of American Colonial History has intellectually relieved Connie from any further consideration of matters such as “aura cleansing” and “earth rhythms.” After several grueling years in a stifling professional …
I loved the atmospheric writing in this book. The women characters, be they 17th or 20th century, are well drawn, all of them strong, intelligent, and resourceful, yet fallible. The societal machinations surrounding them, be they the witch hysteria of 1692 Salem or academia at Harvard in 1991, which apparently produces a sort of hysteria all its …
I enjoyed the book and its foray into American Colonial history, but I wanted more from the main character. She was difficult to connect with.
This is the first book I have read of Author Katherine Howe’s and it definitely will not be my last! Harvard student Connie Goodwin has
just finished her oral qualifying examine to complete her PhD., but instead of an easier. Summer break, her mom Grace wants her to get her grandmother’s house ready to sell. Unbeknownst to Connie, she will be …
This was the first book I read of Katherine Howe’s and loved it. A lovely witchy tale. Super entertainment.
Thought this book was GREAT!! Loved the story…looking forward to reading the sequel, TERESA HOBBS.
A wonderful mix of history, magic and mystery. I loved how the story develops and appreciated the building of the characters.
Mystery, magic and history!
I loved this book. Lent it to a friend with the I want it back notice. She lost it! I finally gave up waiting and was able to find it in hardback in wonderful condition from one of Amazons sellers.
I enjoyed reading this book, and didn’t let the inconsistencies rattle me as they do some readers
I have read and re-read this book. It’s wonderfully written and engaging—not just because my husband is from the neighboring town!
This wonderful book scared me while reading in the middle of the day. Really scary!
One of the better books I’ve read in the last few years. It’s one ofbthosecstoriesvthat stays with you
A most enjoyable book with a view into the life and research of a modern day PHD candidate, the life of colonial women and the Salem Witch Trials.