Kathleen Kent’s offering, The Heretic’s Daughter, is a stunning debut novel – truly one of the best I’ve ever read. Hewn from her own family history and intensive research, Kent shares the life of her grandmother nine generations back – Martha Carrier – who was hanged for witchcraft during the trials of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. While not falling within the generally prescribed boundaries of traditional Christian genres, this beautiful work of historical fiction is a must-read for all believers – if only to prevent similar atrocities from taking place in the name of Christ again.

Written from the perspective of Martha’s daughter Sarah, readers are immediately immersed in a bleak, harsh landscape. Living under the shadow of smallpox, threat of attacks from surrounding natives, and the oppressive leadership of religious zealots in most towns, 11-year-old Sarah’s life offers little in the way of warmth or comfort. Born into a stoic, and mysteriously set-apart family, the trails of Sarah’s childhood will soon pale in comparison to the terrible impact the Salem witch-trials will leave in its wake.

Deftly drawing together the strands of historical detail, coming-of-age story, and rich, spell-binding prose, The Heretic’s Daughter is both unforgettable and heart-breaking.

“We rose each day to put on steaming, dirty clothes, we chewed out flattened bread and moistened it with water so that it would not catch in our gullets, we wiped the sweat and chased the flies, and ate our soup at noontide, and pounded our fraying implements against post and stump, shredded our meat for supper, and laid ourselves down again at evening-tide to wrestle against our dreams and our fetid sheets.”

Though an exceptionally long sentence, this excerpt somehow encapsulates the struggle that the Carrier family faced. The bleakness of their situation more apparent as Martha stood by her conviction to maintain her innocence even as she was confronted with threats of death. Both lyrical and haunting Kent’s prose would be unbearably dark without the hope of family solidarity and the slow unfolding of understanding that maturity brings in relation to one’s parents.

Believers may be concerned with how Christians are presented in this work. Kent correctly portrays a harsh, religious spirit of judgment, condemnation, manipulation, and fear, as the travesty that it is. However, she balances this portrait with characters who express God’s loving-kindness through their words and acts; those who preach grace and mercy, those who pray with and minister to the falsely accused, those who work to discredit the trials and eventually result in their closure.

The Heretic’s Daughter is not a happy, feel-good novel, but it is a necessary one. In my life as a former witch I was terribly misinformed as to the nature, motivation, and victims of the crimes committed in Salem. After my rebirth as a Christian, I hadn’t taken the time to re-examine the history surrounding that town’s blighted past. I am deeply thankful for Kent’s balanced, accurate, and oh – so deeply moving, sharing of her family’s history with us.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com ( )

This book started off slow but I always commit to finishing a novel once I start so I did and it was a little disappointing. I wanted to hear more of why they accused this little girls mother of being a witch. I only kept my patience because this really happened to these people. ( )

This story was very interesting. It's fiction but the characters are based on real people. It wasn't what I thought but good. A slower read for me..not something that I HAD to pick up everyday but could not stop thinking about. ( )

Slow first half, great last half! ( )

The story of young Sarah Carrier and her family as they struggle with life in Puritan times and the tragedies that arise from the superstitious hysteria of the Salem Witch trials. Well written, engaging characters set in a believable plot - overall a very good and satisfying read. ( )

Martha Carrier was a real woman, hanged as a witch at Salem,and the fact that Kent is a descendent of the Carriers adds an emotional connection to the story that makes the account even more personal.

The language of this book is lyrical yet simple, reflecting the lives of the people living in New England in the 1690s; bound by the seasons, the hard work of a farm, and the religious prejudices and fears.

Kent’s novel shows how the difficulty of the times combined with people’s readiness to believe supernatural nonsense gave rise to the readiness to believe the accusations of witchcraft. In Kent’s portrayal of the events, the Puritanism of the people had little do with their beliefs in witches, especially because they had little understanding of religions, being more concerned with survival. But when one person resented another, they were ready to make accusations of witchery without even really thinking about it. It is only with the combination of the legal system and the religious beliefs, with the shrill demonization of ordinary people by religious leaders such as Cotton Mather, that these ordinary grumblings about one’s neighbors and competitors turn into a means to kill them. With such a perspective, the book makes a strong case for keeping religion and political power as separate as possible.

I can report that I really enjoyed The Heretic’s Daughter. The writing is strong and the story is gripping. ( )

Other readers have stated that they thought this book started very slowly. I experienced the audio version and it had me hooked right away. Based on Kathleen Kent's family history, The Heretic's Daughter is the fictionalized tale of the Carrier family during the Salem witch trials. The tale is told through the perspective of Sarah Carrier, a ten year old child in the family.

Kent took me back to the late 1600's with an understanding of rural life and the everyday attitudes towards family, religion, and conflict resolution. I was amazed at how superstitious people were and how those interpretations led to hysteria. Especially appalling was the way in which "criminals" were housed and treated by the justice system. Kent writes concisely and vividly and the plot unfolds dramatically.

I highly recommend this book to historical fictional fans. There are descriptions of the torture inflicted on the accused which may disturb younger/sensitive readers. ( )

Granted, the book meanders a bit, getting off to a somewhat sluggish start. But Kent's revealing look at the Salem Witch Trials through the eyes of a girl directly involved provides a solid pay-off. The fact that this chain of events is based on the author's research into her family's history makes this an even more impressive work. ( )

There are many dark points in American history, and one of the earliest was the Salem Witch Trials. Kathleen Kent, author of The Heretic’s Daughter, based her debut book on her ancestor, Martha Carrier, who was executed for witchcraft. Kent researched extensively her ancestry and this time period, and the end result was a book that was gripping and heart wrenching.

The story was told from the perspective of Sarah Carrier, Martha’s daughter. Through Sarah’s eyes, we learned about the Puritan lifestyle that formed the backdrop for the witch trials. It’s amazing to look back at the “evidence” now – the obvious shenanigans of young girls who grasped their moment of power, despite the horrid outcomes. Though all of those accused were later cleared of their crimes (often posthumously), Kent’s explanation of how reasonable people were swept up into the hysteria was enlightening.

All of the characters in The Heretic’s Daughter were well developed. Sarah misunderstood the love of her mother, who seemed hard and unaffectionate, until the weeks before her execution, when she realized that Martha’s love for her family was endless. Sarah’s father, Thomas, and her brothers were depicted as stoic yet vulnerable. The Carrier family was a pleasure to read about – complete with their faults, strengths and boundless love for each other.

If you are interested in historical fiction, then I would highly recommend The Heretic’s Daughter to you. I enjoyed this book immensely and gained a deeper appreciation for this tragic time of our history. ( )

I picked this up by chance and I couldn't be more happy with it. It was so good I read it in three sittings. As you might get from other reviews this is about the Salem witch trials from the point of view of a young girl name Sarah, but for me that isn't the real story here. The meat of the book is the relationship between Sarah and her mother. Sarah discovers in the worst possible was, the trials, that her mother is not the hard woman she thinks but is in fact loving and caring while those that she thinks good early on are not really so.

This book had me smiling at the early discoveries of Martha Carrier's personality. I truly fell in love with her character. I'm not ashamed to say I cried through most of the last half of the book.

I wholeheartedly recommend it. ( )

Salem Witch Trials, from the participants' viewpoint. It really is amazing how flimsy the 'evidence' was to ruin so many lives. Based on real stories from one of the descendants. Pretty amazing how little has changed since the Puritans when you listen to the news these days.
If the story weren't true, it would be hard to believe. Good job of bringing home the reality for one little girl. ( )

The subject-matter of The Heretic's Daughter is as unsettling as the stare of the young girl on the cover. The background is the hard Puritan life in New England at the time of the Salem witch trials. The author is a tenth generation descendant of the Carrier family whose life is told within, so it is based on a true story.

The narrative is told entirely through the eyes of nine year old Sarah who has to go and live with her aunt and uncle when smallpox comes to their community. The rest of her family stay with her grandmother in Andover near Salem, but unwittingly they took the pox with them there - not a good start to life in a new town. In these opening chapters, much is made of the difference in character between her aloof parents and warmer relatives. When Sarah returns to her parents, a feud soon develops between the families over the inheritance of her grandmother's estate. Sarah, being just a child finds it hard to understand the adults' enmity.

In the second part of the novel, the Salem witch trials are wreaking havoc amongst these communities. Sadly, Sarah's herbalist mother's reputation for plain-speaking, together with foment whipped up by the family feud leads to her being denounced as a witch. Refusing to admit to this, Martha is jailed in Salem, along with those whose names we may be familiar with from Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. Then, they come for Sarah and her brothers. The story tells of the terrible conditions in the cells at Salem, of Martha's moral strength in the face of certain death, and her bonds with Sarah.

The first half of this novel was rather overlong, although we certainly do get a feel for their hard lives of toil and living under fear of attack from the natives. There was little hint of the poisonous paranoia that would later infect the community like an epidemic though. All the while, the preachers postured and played at politics with their flocks, until the actions of a group of silly girls set it all off and we know what happened.

Telling the story through the eyes of a child does give a different perspective; Sarah has to grow up fast and learn to do whatever she must to survive. A sub-plot about the early career of Sarah's father before he emigrated, goes nowhere and detracts slightly from the focus on the witch-trials. Compared with The Crucible, (and that is impossible to ignore), I felt it was emotionally much less involving, but this book was nevertheless a very readable debut. (Book supplied by the Amazon Vine programme.) ( )

Perfect for : Personal reading, great book club read, may be good for a history class discussing the Salem Witch Trials

In a nutshell: An intriguing story of a family severely impacted by both the smallpox and the Salem Witch Trials. The author, Kathleen Kent, is a descendant of the original Carrier family, which adds more reality to the story, as it has been written around actual events. Knowing that a lot of innocent people were hurt throughout the Salem Witch Trials, I had a hard time picking this book up, but once I started reading it, I had trouble putting it down! The book provides an amazing look into late 1600's America, a time when life was hard, where sickness wiped out entire towns, and people were unjustly persecuted. It also provides the perfect setting to understand why our freedom of religion is so important and why some fought so hard for that right.

Extended Review: The first half of the book introduces the family and the time in history to the reader, setting up relationships within the extended family. We also see how awful smallpox is and how quickly it can spread. The second half of the book focuses on the Salem Witch Trials, where in some cases family, friends and neighbors turned against each other, accusing each other of witchcraft.

The story is told by Sarah, the oldest daughter of the Carrier family. Through her eyes, we watch as the dynamics of her family change: as they move to her grandmother's home in order to be safer from Indian raids, they unknowingly bring the smallpox with them. The two girls are snuck out of the home and taken to a nearby relatives home until it is safe for them to return. Once they return, they watch as people are accused of witchcraft, and they are finally impacted when their own mother is accused and the children are taken to the trials to bear witness against their mother.

As I began the book, I was not particularly fond of Martha Carrier, Sarah's mother. To me, she seemed to be a harsh and unloving parent. By the end of the book, I had completely changed my opinion of her. She remained faithful to her beliefs and did not compromise her values in order to save herself. Instead, she does everything in her power to fight the injustices of the witch trials, believing that her innocence will be proven in the end. While she is in prison, she does everything she can to make sure her children are safe.

Characters: During this time in history, people had to be strong in order to survive. These characters are no exception. Kathleen Kent has woven a powerful story, peeking at Sarah's father's past, her mother's strength-of-character. Each character in the book has a purpose, and each helps to enhance the story being told.

Story-Line: For me, the story was really about the mother-daughter relationship and how it evolved between Sarah and Martha Carrier. While the book relates American history of the late 1600's, shining light on both the smallpox and the Salem Witch Trials, it is really one family's story of where they came from and how they have survived.

Readability: I did not have any problems reading the story, rather I had trouble putting it down.

Overall: This was a very powerful book, made even more amazing by the fact that it is based on actual events that happened within the writer's family in the late 1600's. This book gives the reader a wonderful view of what life was like during that time, and a shocking look into what can happen when people turn against each other out of spite, bitterness and jealousy. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, early America, and the Salem Witch Trials. ( )

The story here is a bit of a disappointment. If you have never read or seen the Crucible or any other story about the salem witch trials, then this may be a good first book for you. The story is well-written and researched and the characters are interesting at times. Nonetheless, if you know anything about the stories from that era, you will learn nothing new and will probably float through this book with neutral indifference thinking it was a nice read, but forgetting it rather immediately after. ( )

Author Kathleen Kent has done a marvelous job weaving the story of Martha Carrier, convicted of witchcraft in the 1692 frenzy in that Massachusetts village, into a very readable work of fiction. The story is told from the perspective of her daughter Sarah. The story is moving and appears to be fairly accurate in its depiction of actual event although conversations are certainly mostly fictionalized.

My 8th great grandaunt Mary Bradbury was mentioned in the book. Her conviction was mentioned along with her being moved to the cell for those convicted with others convicted the same day. I began to get concerned when "Sarah" stated that she would not see them again until the day "they were taken out to be hanged." I knew that Mary had managed to escape her sentence. However, when the others were taken out to be executed a few pages later Mary and one more woman were not among those listed. I breathed a sigh of relief realizing that the author had done her research.

This book presents a very readable account of this sad chapter of America's history. It is highly recommended. It is the best book I have read this year (2009). ( )

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=21 ( )

Author Kathleen Kent, who is a direct descendant of Martha Carrier has created a emotional, heart wrenching story. While the witch trials were a big part of the story, it was mother and daughter that are the heart of this book. I don't read Historical Fiction often but, I very much enjoyed this book. It's thick with history and you get a real sense of what Puritan life was like. ( )

This story of the historic witch trials is told through the perspective of a young girl whose mother was taken and eventually hanged for witchcraft. The book was loosely based on a real life ancestor of the author. It's incredible to read about how little it took to convince the masses that people were doing the devil's bidding, regardless of any logic to the contrary. Those who lied and admitted to witchcraft were the lucky ones....they were imprisoned and put into cells to rot. Children were not spared, because even a four year old could be possessed by the devil. It's hard to believe that there was ever such a time that inhumanity and paranoia could control a society the way it did during that time. The Heretic's Daughter is a chilling read, if for nothing else, because of the intimate look at a society gone mad. ( )

An absolutely fascinating portrayal of the families' perspectives of a world renowned episode in history. The portrayal of the effect of hysteria also makes this a must read book.

It is rare that I want a book just from seeing one advert (in fact the advert missed the publication date and I found I had a very long week to wait to own this superb book) ... and only the second time in my life I have bought a book on the day of publication (the other was the fifth in an epic series).

This was definitely an unputdownable book. The historical links for the character of Thomas Carrier were of particular interest and I am looking forward to his story being published once the prequel is written ... ( )

I started this book because of a review I read. I was quick to find out that the reviewer had no idea what they where talking about (no one on this site). However, we both enjoyed it very much.
The story gives you a fresh angle on an "old" subject. You get wrapped up in the characters' lives and you feel for them all in a way you just don't think is possible. That time in our history, as with so many, people felt trapped between doing the right thing and their freedom. Just be prepared to be sad and upset.
I have given my copy to several people to borrow and everyone of them have liked it for different reasons. It seems to have something for everyone. ( )

This book had some great character development. I really liked the growth shown by the main character and the relationship she had with her family members. I was shocked to hear how pitiful the conditions were in the jail for those accused of witchcraft in Salem and the surrounding areas. ( )

Anyone who thinks regularly about "The Crucible" (I'll admit that I do) will love this. ( )

Very slow moving book written by a descendant of one of the accused witches of Salem, MA. There was no drama or suspense, just a day to day look into the families life. None of the characters inspired any emotion in me. ( )

This book was gripping and I was pulled into the craziness of Sarah’s world in which anyone could be accused of being a witch. It was touching to see Sarah come to realize that behind their austerity both her mother and father loved her and would do anything to keep their children safe. Sarah’s story made you feel as if you were there witnessing everything that happened to her family and I wanted to cry as her mother was taken to be hanged. It is also scary to think that entire villages could be caught up in such a hysteria in which they could accuse their neighbors including old men, women and young children of witchcraft and condemn them to death. I also came to care for each of Sarah’s brothers and my heart would rise and fall with each obstacle presented in front on them. I think anyone reading this book will be transported into the lives of those who lived and died during the witch trials that began in Salem. ( )

Nine-year-old Sarah Carrier has moved with her family from Billerica to Andover, Massachusetts. She travels with her parents, three older brothers and baby sister bringing smallpox to the small and devout town where her mother and aunt were raised by her grandmother. Although the family is immediately quarantined, Sarah’s father is able to sneak Sarah and her sister Hannah off to their aunt’s household out of town, where both girls revel in the kind of attention they don’t get at home. Sarah, who has always had a contentious relationship with her mother, is angry and resentful when she returns to live with her family months later.

Though Sarah's mother, Martha, tries to warn her of the importance of family and sticking together, Sarah is fixated on her uncle and his family and continues to dream of the life that she and her sister are missing out on with them, a life that she believes her mother has stolen from her. She doesn't pay attention to the feud that has developed between her mother and her aunt's husband over the land that her mother has inherited upon her grandmother's death. This dispute escalates dramatically, and with deadly consequences, with the onset of the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials.

I loved that this novel was so rich and finely woven with detail. There are two stories being told here, and Kent does a remarkable job with both of them. Just as compelling as the story of the Salem Witch trials and Sarah and her family's involvement, is the story of this family struggling to make a living within a community where they are neither welcomed nor accepted, and whose beliefs they don’t fully share. I was transported as I got to see the workings of the farm, the division of labor for the chores, and the complex relationship that Sarah has with all the members of her family. Kent seamlessly creates a world of words where the human drama and emotion are complemented by a stunning picture of what it was like to live during this moment in history.

The tensions of the strained mother-daughter relationship are beautifully rendered, and delicately balanced so that I felt for both sides, even though Sarah is telling the story. Martha was young and trying to raise several children with the man whom she married, but was considered beneath her station. She is also a very strong woman living in a time when strong woman were not often rewarded but likely to be punished. Each of Kent's sentences are rich in language and history. It was also very interesting to me to see a nine-year old portrayed as such a young adult. I am aware that we now drag out childhood and adolescence much longer than at any other time in history, but even knowing that it was mind-blowing to see the responsibilities that Sarah had, and the hard work that she did, not to mention the emotional component of what was required of her in her ordeal with her family.

Listen, I could go on and on about what I loved about this story. Sarah's relationship with her brother Tom. Sarah's odd relationship with her taciturn father. The mystery that surrounds her father and thereby the family, that makes them outcasts among their peers. But I won't. You should just read this book.