The Heretic’s daughter is a novel set in Massachusetts in 1690 during the Salem Witch trials, and as the title alludes to, it is about a young girl and how she is effected by the goings on during this tumultuous time. As the book begins you are lead to believe that the heretic is Sarah’s father and how his lack of church is causing difficulty in the community, but as the story continues her mother is arrested as a witch and taken away to prison. The novel explores the emotions Sarah is going through as her mother is tortured and then condemned. Then a twist in my thinking as the relationship between Sarah and her father comes to the front of the story again, making me wonder if the heretic is not the mother but the father. I enjoyed this book with all of its emotions. Whenever one thinks about the Salem Witch trials one thinks of the event in a very critical way, with it being all bad and no joy. But this book made me think about the events from the point of view of the individuals trapped in the hell of the time. And in the end as I think back on what I read, the heretic was not Sarah’s parents but the court system that turned a blind eye to the moral implications of the events and allowed it to happen.
Review by Leslie B.
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