Natalie M. (natalietahoe) - , reviewed The Heretic's Daughter -- Quietly Amazing on 7/10/2009 + 70 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 7

Quietly amazing -- that's how it should be phrased.

How incredible to read the story of Thomas and Martha Carrier and their family during the Salem Witch Trials, written by a descendant of this couple. It takes a while to build up, which I must admit, at first I urgently wanted it to pick up a bit, but once it did, I understood why the story moved slowly at the beginning. It built up your awareness to this family's story and then to the trials; the style of writing truly gives you the feeling of living in this time frame.

When you start to read this, be patient. It does move faster after it has set the stage for how much it will blow you away with each startling page of the cruelty in the Salem Witch Trials, the ridiculousness of the mass hysteria, and the squalor that the prisoners had to live in, from toddlers to aging great-grandmothers. You will not be disappointed by the descriptions and the fluidity of each written word.

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