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| The Heretic's Daughter: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Kathleen Kent
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $13.02
You Save: $11.97 (48%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $12.83
Avg. Customer Rating:  (47 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1820
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0316024481
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780316024488
ASIN: 0316024481
Publication Date: September 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 42 more reviews...
 A family's struggle for life, liberty, and happiness during the Salem Witch Trials December 2, 2008
Kathleen Kent holds great promise as an historical novelist as evidenced by her debut novel The Heretic's Daughter. In the Heretic's Daughter, readers will see the Salem Witch Trials through the eyes of an accused child witch and her family. The author takes us deep inside the horrid conditions of the jailed accused and a family's struggle to stay alive. It is there, in the last half of the book that the author shows incredible skill in storytelling. I was shocked and saddened to learn how the accused were left jailed, in chains, hungry, and confined in unsanitary surroundings. A couple of incidents are sure to be completely heartbreaking to everyone who picks up this book.
This book brought to me a new appreciation for our current justice system and religious freedoms. My primary criticism of this book is that the chapters are incredibly long. I don't like picking up a book and not being able to finish a chapter in a sitting. Many chapters in this book will take an hour to read. It would have been nice if the chapters were shorter. Despite a slow and awkward beginning, once I was halfway through the book I was completely immersed in the storyline and finished the book quickly.
In my opinion, this is a must read book for fans of early American historical fiction.
A Touching and historically full story December 2, 2008
I loved this book for its depth of historical research during the time of the Salem witch trials. The narrative is a little slow at first, but then picks up and you will keep reading to see what happens. This book is for history buffs who like terrific fiction as well.
Well Told Horrible History December 2, 2008
If you can get past the creepy cover art, you may enjoy this retelling of the Salem Witch Trials. The narrator is the young Sarah Carrier who has just moved to Salem, and is forced to contend with the witch terror gripping the town at the time. This harsh coming of age story is told in a time where family squabbles, neighborly disputes, and mild forms of fortune were causes for condemnation.
Using a child to try and make sense of what is happening is heart breaking and genius. The details framing the hysteria and the treatment of witches are vivid and obviously well researched. The characters are well developed and honestly flawed.
Kathleen Kent is a promising historical fiction writer. That said--the novel's structure lacks continuity; it begins as a letter to a relative, but doesn't finish that way. The telling also alludes to several historical incidents involving the Carrier Family which never sufficiently materialize.
This book Overall the book is more of a very good read, and less of an eye opener regarding the trials. The message is a little obvious--the Witch Trials were BAD, and unless you are almost completely devoid of knowledge on the subject, you won't learn anything new.
Started slow, but then... December 1, 2008
This book started out slow for me, and it took about 50 pages before I was able to get into the story. Once I did, I found it thoroughly engrossing.
Ms. Kent does an amazing job of bringing to the reader the realty of what it must have been like for those wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft during late 1600's Massachusetts. The descriptions and imagery she presents is truly horrifying and yet, this definitely is a story full of love and hope. THE HERETICS DAUGHTER is an excellent book for anyone interested in the Salem witch trials.
A Story of Mother and Daughter November 30, 2008
Ever since reading Arthur Miller's The Crucible in 12th Grade English, I've been fascinated with the Salem Witch Trials. When I seen it's review in the RT Magazine, I knew I had to read it.
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.
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