SueK Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 This will be my next read on the TBR pile - after reading these reviews it has moved closer to the top. I loved the Lost Book of Salem although I appreciate this is a different take on the story. Years ago I read the Witches of Salem and I would like to re-read that at some point. Talking of witches. I used to have a copy of the Witches of Pendle but passed it on. I would love to read that again but can't find it anywhere, not even in my library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 I've just bought this book on the back of Weave's review. It's sounds fantastic Hopefully it'll arrive in the next few days. It sounds like something I could pass on to my Mam too as she's just started to read again. She reads more than me these days and passes books onto me now (not that I'm complaining! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 Well I was the first person in Charms book-ring to get the book. Many thanks again Charm. I definitely enjoyed this book though I found it hard going at first. For me the story really started to pick up after the arrest of Sarah's mother. I raced through the last 100 or so pages and I found the descriptions of the awful conditions the women had to suffer very detailed and harrowing. What the book has done is raise my interest even more in the Salem witch trials as I did not feel they were deeply explored in the book, with the trials just passed over. I am going to do a bit of research to find out a bit more about them. Overall a good read but one that for me took a while to get into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 I'm so glad you ended up enjoying this tunn, it's nice that it has piqued your interest further in the witch trials, it did the same for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Thanks to Charm and her bookring, I've managed to get my hands on and finish this book. I loved it from start to finish and it's wonderfully written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Thanks to Charm and her bookring, I've managed to get my hands on and finish this book. I loved it from start to finish and it's wonderfully written. Great to hear, Lilywhite! Can't wait until the book gets to me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Thanks to Charm and her bookring, I've managed to get my hands on and finish this book. I loved it from start to finish and it's wonderfully written. Yeah I agree - a very good read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Thanks to Charm and her bookring, I've managed to get my hands on and finish this book. I loved it from start to finish and it's wonderfully written. You're very welcome, I'm so glad you enjoyed it . I was worried some would find it a bit depressing because it could be so harrowing at times, but I found it actually very interesting, especially from the little girl's point of view, and again, as you say, wonderfully written! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Waterstones Synopsis: Martha Carrier was hanged on August 19th 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, unyielding in her refusal to admit to being a witch, going to her death rather than joining the ranks of men and women who confessed and were thereby spared execution. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and wilful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live.In this startling novel, she narrates the story of her early life in Andover, near Salem. Her father is a farmer, English in origin, quietly stoical but with a secret history. Her mother is a herbalist, tough but loving, and above all a good mother. Often at odds with each other, Sarah and her mother have a close but also cold relationship, yet it is clear that Martha understands her daughter like no other. When Martha is accused of witchcraft, and the whisperings in the community escalate, she makes her daughter promise not to stand up for her if the case is taken to court. As Sarah and her brothers are hauled into the prison themselves, the vicious cruelty of the trials is apparent, as the Carrier family, along with other innocents, are starved and deprived of any decency, battling their way through the hysteria with the sheer willpower their mother has taught them. This is the first Kathleen Kent novel I have read and the first book sent during the Salem Witch Trials - and I have to say I was pleased on both fronts. This book follows Sarah, a girl whose mother is hanged because people believe she is a witch. Girls in the town point and accuse and the citizens fates are decided. Her family face all sorts of hardships and find themselves cooped up in prison too. By using what their mother has taught them they have to learn how to depend on each other and survive. I really enjoyed this book however I did find that it had a slow beginning. Once I got halfway through I started to really enjoy it and I felt the pace picked up. Kent was descriptive and I found the way she described the life, the fear and the horror of the prisons fascinating - although harrowing too. She lit my imagination and I felt I was there too, also experiencing the suffering. I liked Kent's characters. I admired Sarah's mother Martha, who was strong until the end. She protected her family, even if that meant she faced death. I found Sarah an interesting read - it seemed she needed someone to cling onto, such as her cousin Margaret, but I liked how her character developed and the way her and her older brother joined together and survived. I found this a harrowing read. I didn't have any problems with the history - in fact this has opened the doors to this era for me and now I hope to read more from this genre. I think Kent dealt with the issues at hand well and I was fascinated to discover this is her family's story - passed down through generations. Once I got past the slow start this story opened up and pulled me in and I really enjoyed it. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kez952 Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 hi, thanks to you guys i am adding this to my reading list as i do enjoy historical novels! cant wait to order this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 hi, thanks to you guys i am adding this to my reading list as i do enjoy historical novels! cant wait to order this one! Hey Kez! I'm big on historical novels as well. Have you heard of or read 'The Lost Book of Salem' (aka The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane) by Katherine Howe? It's also a historical fiction work about the Salem witches and many of us here would highly recommend it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kez952 Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 hi peacefield, i hadn't heard of it, but just read the review and definately want to start this one! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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