"The Heretic´s Daughter"

SYNOPSIS:

“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 descendant 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”.

Credits to Goodreads.com

REVIEW:

Nowadays, witch-trials are just but a vague memory of the past, but there was a period when women and men lived in small locations full of superstitions and jealousy where people accused each other just for the sake of getting benefit or even to save their own lives.  Salem (Massachusetts) was known worldwide due to the genocide that occurred  in the XVII century, and even if it was a small village, there were many victims in a short period of time. With her novel, Kathleen Kent introduces us to the terrifying Salem trials, as she is descendant of Martha Carrier, one of the women accused of committing the act of witchcraft and who was executed among many others.

The truth is, it took me a while to get though the book, because at first we are introduced to the main characters and the customs of the period. But all in a sudden,  the peaceful live of the Carriers is shadowed by danger. Besides,  Kents majestic way of narrating, makes the reader immerse into New England and one of the darkest moments in history.

I love the novel, even if it was a tough one due to the horrible events that take place there, especially the fact that children are imprisoned too. I have also loved the similarities with The Crucible by Arthur Miller, as the characters of that play also appear in The Heretic´s Daughter. 

Furthermore, the fact that the book presents the events from Sarah´s point of view, Martha Carrier´s nine-year-old daughter, makes the actions that occurred in XVII period even more terrifying.  The reader becomes Sarah and through her eyes they see fear, the suffering and the impotence of all the families involved. In my opinion, Kent captures perfectly the spirit of a society full of superstitions and fear and describes the most deplorable side of the civilization through the innocent figure of her ancestor.