by Kathleen Kent

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As a young girl, I read a book that was given to my mother by my Great Aunt.

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The book, Mrs. Mike was a fictional recounting of the real-life experiences of Katherine Mary Flannigan as the young wife of a Mountie in the wilds of Canada. I have never forgotten it or the affect it had on me at such a young age. I had never read anything like it until I came across The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent.

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I can’t remember the last time I purchased a book in hardcover, but after reading the novel, The Heretic’s Daughter,  I knew I could not wait for the paperback version to come out so I made a trip to the bookstore.

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Set in the American colonies in the late 1600s, this story is told as a reflective narrative of a grandmother to her granddaughter about the witch trials in the town of Salem and how they affected her life.

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Kent’s descriptive writing totally pulled me into the story. I could feel the biting winter wind, and the dust of the summer clogged my throat along with Sarah Carrier’s as I shared the saga of her family’s struggle to survive in early America. The characters were limited to those who directly interacted with Sarah and her impressions of them as she recalled the events leading up to her mother’s accusation as a witch, but each character was portrayed with depth and insight.

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Kent’s writing was at the same time very moving and uncomfortably accurate in offering a glimpse into the lives and experiences of Puritan Americans. Once I got into The Heretic’s Daughter, I could not put it down.

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Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction or not, I highly recommend reading The Heretic’s Daughter. It’s not a tale you will soon forget.