|
The Heretic's Daughter
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
`Absorbing, and satisfyingly rich in historical details'
--The Bookseller
--The Bookseller
Review
'The richness of the text...the intimate characterisation lends itself to a perfect "curl up by the fire " read'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
achingly honest,
By
This review is from: The Heretic's Daughter (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This is a stunning book. It is the last of three books on the witchhunts I have read back to back and it is by far the best.
The narration is real and honest, making you believe that this is the actual voice of Sarah Carrier. She (narrator) describes her experiences vividly and bluntly and had me gasping aloud at times with the brusque and forthright style. There were times I had to check the dustjacket to ensure that this was indeed a work of fiction and only based on actual events as it is so convincing. The depiction of the troubled and flawed mother/daughter relationship provoked empathy and frustration in me as I willed them to understand each other better. Finally, the healed relationship is one of the most touching I have read. The prison scenes were unforgettable. I also felt this book allowed me more access to the Puritan psyche than others I have previously read on this subject. It also offered a form of explanation for the atrocities that occurred without forgiving them. The powerful revelation of the horror, brutality and injustice was shocking as other writers have tended to glamorise and minimise, focusing instead on the entertainment value. Ultimately, however, the book was uplifting. I thoroughly recommend this book if you are interested in this period of American history. Kathleen Kent is an extremely clever and talented writer in my opinion and I am sure that this book will be very successful. I certainly couldn't put it down and it will stay with me for a long time.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well Researched,
By Mrs. K. A. Wheatley "katywheatley" (Leicester, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Heretic's Daughter (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This is a detailed historical fiction about a young girl's experiences of being caught up in the Salem Witch trials in Massachusetts.
It chronicles the tale of Sarah Carrier and her family and how their refusal to conform to the standards of the puritanical society in which they live effectively condemn them. Sarah's voice seems very authentic, although there are times when it is clear that the author needs to set the scene and for me there are too many explanations of things which at the time would have been not worthy of comment because they would have been every day occurences and thus taken for granted. This is one of the issues that a historical novelist has to deal with however, and Kathleen Kent does her best not to render the narrative too clunky. Certainly once it gets into its stride and she deals with the imprisonment and trial of the poor unfortunates swept up in the mass hysteria, the narrative whips along nicely. Having said that I thought the ending was disappointment. There is a sub plot which weaves its way through the novel regarding Sarah's father and the mysterious part he played in the English Civil War and Cromwell's rise. It percolates along quietly in the background and I kept waiting for the story line to develop. It really doesn't and just kind of gets finished off at the end in quite an unsatisfactory way. I feel the book should have either developed this story more or just left it out altogether. My other gripe is that if you have read and/or studied Arthur Miller's The Crucible, it does in less than a hundred pages what this book does in three hundred. On the other hand, if you are not comfortable with reading play texts, then this is a very good novel about a very interesting period in history.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Story Telling at it's best,
By
This review is from: The Heretic's Daughter (Hardcover)
This is a great story in the best sense of the word. The story wraps itself around the witch trials which took place in New England, Salem, Massachusetts in the seventeenth century and is told through the voice of a child, the daughter of a so-called witch. What is so stunning about the writing is the clarity and brilliant description. It strikes the reader as true to the time and place. And, unlike many modern novels today, it does not jump from voice to voice or place to place. It is an old-fashioned sort of book in its progression through the days in a straight line. It reads fluidly and realistically and does not rely on shock tactics or anything else sometimes contrived by authors. Even though I am very familiar with this period of history in America and have also read The Crucible, I found myself unable to put this book down. Reading it was a delight and created such a vivid picture in my mind that I was sad when it ended. After the trials the story jumps forward quite a bit and it might be worth another book by Kathleen Kent to give us more about the aftermath of the trials. She is so good in the period voice it would be well-worth a try.
Even if you know nothing about this historical period it is atmospheric and creates all you need to know to delve deeply into the troubling world of this time. Other reviewers give more details about the story and they do a very good job. I only want to add to their positive voices and encourage you to read this book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
