I love historical fiction – and what an opportunity to get to know a bit about Margaret Jones. ~ Sheila
It’s 1646, and Thomas and Margaret Jones have left their life in London to escape suspicion of Margaret’s vast knowledge of herbal remedies. Moving to Boston, Thomas finds plenty of work with his skills of carpentry, and Margaret, in no time, is the one to call if you are having a baby or need a remedy for what is ailing you. She is whip smart on creating the perfect combination of herbs.
But soon, Margaret’s fiery personality and sharp tongue once again catch up with them, leading to townfolk using the word “cunning” when describing her, and men telling Thomas that he needed to control his wife. In this Puritan community, words and actions that seem to heal beyond what one would call normal processes lead to rumblings of witchcraft… words that you do not want in any way associated with you, as witchcraft means death.
When an upper-class young widow sets her eyes on Thomas, it’s all too easy to add her voice to the rumblings, adding fuel to a fire that, try as Margaret may, she can not put out.
I received this book through our Bookish Secret Santa Exchange. Loving historical fiction – and fascinated by the trials, this was a great pick! I dug into this as the first book I read while we traveled by RV to Florida these past few days.
Absolutely engaging, the historical fiction telling of Thomas and Margaret is one not to miss if this is a genre you enjoy. While in all historical fiction, the author is taking liberties to fill in the unknown, this book is inspired by actual diary entries and court records of Margaret, being the first woman to be executed for witchcraft in Boston.
I enjoyed the read immensely, still dumbfounded that women with skill could be accused and killed under the label of witch, and all of those innocent lives taken, Margaret being one of the early ones.
A few of my friends and I went to Salem in October of 2022 and toured where women were kept and learned more of this time in our history.
Rated: 4.5 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: I would
Themes: Witchcraft, Rape
Book Club Worthy – Absolutely. This would be a great discussion book – to review this time in our history, topics to dig deeper into surrounding the history of the witch trials, what traits a woman had to be accused, etc…
Book Journey 