The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

By: Katherine Howe

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Connie is looking forward to starting work on her graduate thesis over the summer, when her mother asks her to sell an abandoned house once owned by her grandmother in Salem, Mass. Relunctantly, Connie moves to the small town and inhabits the crumbling, ancient house, trying to restore it to a semblance of order.

Curious things start to happen when Connie finds the name "Deliverance Dane" on a yellowed scrap of paper inside an old Bible, and begins to have visions of a long ago woman condemned for practicing "physick," or herbal healing, on her neighbors in 1690s Salem.

Interspersed with modern-day sections are chapters on the actual witch trials, revealing the fascinating story of Deliverance Dane and how she got caught up in the tragic events. Connie meets an intriguing young steeplejack named Sam, who's also interested in the history of the area. But just as Connie starts to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding Deliverance's identity, Sam has a horrifying accident, and Connie has to figure out a way to save him that involves an ancient and mystical cure. And to do that, she needs to locate the actual "physick book" once owned by Deliverance Dane herself.

Immediately compelling, with powerful historic insight and detail, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is that rare find - a literary first novel with a very commercial premise and pacing.

©2009 Katherine Howe (P)2009 Hyperion

Critic reviews

"In all, a keen and magical historical mystery laced with romance and sly digs at society's persistent underestimation of women." ( Booklist)

Witchy and historical!

Great story! I loved the flashbacks to the Salem Witch Trials. I can't wait to read The Daughters of Temperence Hobbs!

Great potential fut only a fair read

Great potential for this book. Definitely a good read but could have done much more with one section of the book. I will not tell you which as to not set expectation. Had that not been the case I would have given this book a 4.5 rating instead of the 3.5

Debbie4023

Any additional comments?

The book itself is entertaining enough but the dramatic pause and music between each chapter was a bit much. My recommendation, read the written word on this one. It is much better.

What if the Salem accused really were witches?

During her oral exams for Ph.D. candidacy at Harvard, Connie's advisor asks her the following about her understanding of the colonial American witch trials: "Have you not considered the distinct possibility that the accused were simply guilty of witchcraft?" Here lies the major premise of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.

No, Connie hadn't considered this possibility, and she doesn't take it seriously when Professor Chilton raises it. After passing her orals, Connie divides her summer between clearing out her grandmother's decrepit home in preparation for selling the place and trying to find an avenue of research for her dissertation proposal. Both endeavors meet when she realizes she may have a lead on a previously unmined primary source: a "recipe" book owned by one of the forgotten prosecuted "witches" from the Salem witch trials. Most of the novel follows Connie's search in 1991, but this narrative is broken up and complemented by extended interludes set during the colonial witch trials.

Howe's strength rests in description. Her portraits of colonial and contemporary Massachusetts bring the settings to life and make them central characters in her story. The fact that Howe herself is the descendant of Elizabeth Proctor (who survived the Salem witch trials) and Elizabeth Howe (who did not) also adds depth and texture to this intergenerational tale.

As a Ph.D. in history myself, I found much of Connie's experience as a graduate student to be familiar. The time frame for her research is wildly condensed from "real life," but Howe offers an explanation for Connie's advisor's crazed expectations. More than a few times I thought that writing this novel must have offered cathartic moments in exorcising Howe's own graduate school experience.

That said, Connie seems a naive, clueless, and inexperienced in her chosen field of study and even basic research methods, and I wasn't quite sure how she'd made it to candidacy at all. A third of the way into the novel I guessed exactly how the rest of the story would unfold, and I ended up being right on every count. This book therefore fails as a procedural story or a mystery. Its enjoyment lies in its sense of mood and atmosphere, as well as the strong connections it underscores between the past and the present, place and memory, history and identity.

Katherine Kellgren's narration was an obstacle to enjoying this book, especially the voice she used for Professor Chilton, which was such an outrageous caricature that it belonged in a farcical comedy. It's difficult to take a tension-filled scene of peril seriously when the narrator's reading makes you want to laugh.

Lessons from cunning folk...

Steeped in the Salem hysteria of 1692 & brought to current times, time may have only lessened the social outcomes of being "different". the paranoia & fear of the unknown is still powerful, but never more powerful than it is in our own self. A mysterious, historical story of witches, religion & some cunning women!
Loved it.

Great book,hated the reader.

I enjoyed this book. It was well researched also, and it was a bit different than most on this subject, tackled in a different way. I enjoyed the writing, but I did not enjoy the reader. Oh did she get on my nerves. nails down a chalkboard aggravating! Still, I would recommend it, as the readers are great to some, horrible to others!

I really liked it!

I read a physical copy of this book probably 8 years ago and didn’t remember it very well, so I decided to listen to it on Audible. The performance was great! Really interesting and fun if you love the Salem witch trials.

interesting, but not necessarily a page-turner

The book was entertaining, especially for someone who is interested in colonial Salem and the witch trials. if that kind of thing is your thing you will enjoy the level of detail and how the author portrays the historical characters and then cleverly ties it all back to current day. unfortunately, the story did plod along a little bit. it's worth the purchase, but might not be your go-to book when you want to listen to something again.

A Magical Story

Where does The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A good solid listen, I'm sure I will listen to this book again.

What did you like best about this story?

A story of family first and foremost and how our ancestors have influenced our present choices.

Pretty Good

I loved the story line. I was kept interested to the very end. The narrator was very good. The only thing I really didn't like was in between each chapter this hokey music played. It kind of sounded like a 70's soap opera soundtrack music. Very cheesy.