The Heretic's Daughter

A Novel

By: Kathleen Kent

Narrated by: Mare Winningham

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried, and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.

Kathleen Kent is a 10th generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She is also a natural-born storyteller, and in her first novel, she paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution

©2008 Kathleen Kent (P)2008 Hachette Audio

A scary cautionary tale...

I have to admit that once I started this audiobook I felt a bit disappointed, as it seemed slow, boring even.
But as the book progresses in it’s representation of the events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials I felt completely hooked. Until reading this book I did not fully understand how these atrocities could occur at the hysterical rantings of a few teenage girls…
The first half of the book was a day-to-day in the life a 9 year old girl, Sarah Carrier of Andover, and it gives you the feel for life in 17th Century New England. Once the book gets to the accusations, the fear is palpable. As events spiral out of control, the novel sheds a light in the darkness that radiates outward from the trials. Thank God the novel is not all doom and gloom as we are able to see the Carrier family bond and develop strength of character to counter their awful fate.
This is a very scary cautionary tale about the abuse of power, the potential effect of a mob mentality and the dangers of a theocracy.

Good Listen

Great narrator, good story. Some parts were slower than others. It only took me a few days to finish. Worth checking out if you like period fiction.

Dark and Sad

Historically interesting and compellingly and elegantly told, but unremittingly dark and depressing. One despairs that the weak minded would believe such lies and yet the same can be seen today, with people willingly believing claims with no truth in reality.

Pretty good over all

The book is pretty good overall, my only complaint is that it's kind of a slow build up and slightly awkward pacing. The narrator does a good job putting the listener into the setting and giving you an idea of what the Salem witch trials were actually like. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the Salem witch trials or life in 1600s colonial America.

Great story

I love historical fiction, and this is a great story, based on the tragic story of people being persecuted and killed for being different under the cloak of being called witches. Interesting perspective. Will man's inhumanity to man ever stop?

What is Love?

Both the book & the narrator were near perfection. The book tells the story of Sarah Carrier, whose Mother, Martha, is executed as a witch during the Salem Witch trials. It examines the themes of mother/daughter relationships, family, community, survival & religion. Over & over again it examines its central question, what is love? Is love hard or soft, does love give freedom or restrain it? The questions & themes resonate long after the book is finished. The narrator does a beautiful job with the material, reading with subtlety & depth, covering a broad range of characters & accents. I highly recommend this book. If you are anything like me, be prepared; I cried through much of it.

Salem revisited

I enjoyed this book; lots of interesting historical detail. The first half of the book clipped along. The second half was a bit draggy.

From the inside...

... the Salem Witch Trials seem even more barbaric. It seems very much like the Taliban version of Sharia Law bought to life in colonial New England.

Kathleen Kent's retelling transports you back and inhabits the harsh realities of life in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The tale reveals a picture of the Carrier family in compelling prose.

Mare Winningham holds true to the writing and time.

This is the best Audiobook I've heard since "Unbroken".

envelopes you

awesome story. hard to stop listening. you have to convince yourself to turn it off.

Great narration and story

I felt so many emotions experiencing the horrors of the Salem witchcraft trials, told through the raw perspective of a fiery heroine.