Set in the mid-1600s on Martha’s Vineyard (known then as Noepe) Geraldine Brooks’s Caleb’s Crossing is a work of historical fiction inspired by the true story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. The novel is narrated by Bethia Mayfield, a curious and spirited Puritan girl who defies the rigid […]
Technically this is a play, not a novel. But it very much can be read and enjoyed like a book. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, written in 1953, is a powerful dramatic work set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials of 1692. It was written as a direct allegory for the anti-communist “Red Scare”
Kathleen Kent’s The Heretic’s Daughter is an interesting take on the Salem witch trials. It is told through the eyes of a young girl caught in the storm of fear, suspicion, and betrayal that unfolded during that time period, which lasted from February 1692 through May 1693 in colonial Massachusetts. Written in 2008, the novel
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Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River is an intense and eye-opening piece of historical fiction set in the brutal winter of 1789, in the town of Hallowell, Maine. It’s a suspenseful mystery based on the real-life diary of Martha Ballard—a well-known and respected midwife, healer, and self-appointed community investigator. We appreciate novels that are meticulously researched
This one is a true classic. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 work, The Scarlet Letter, is considered by many to be a masterpiece of its time. The book remains a popular assignment in high school and college, and is a cornerstone of American literature, providing a haunting look into the heart of 17th-century Puritan Boston. Often cited
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The Winthrop Woman was quite a popular book when it appeared in 1958, but it’s one of those books that is forgotten by many, except for some die-hard fans. It’s worth a look because it’s a meticulously researched historical novel detailing the life of Elizabeth Fones, a startlingly independent woman defying the rigid, dogmatic Puritan
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