The Lost Book of Salem
Katherine Howe
The Lost Book of Salem
While clearing out her grandmother’s cottage for sale, Connie Goodwin finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane. And so begins the hunt to uncover the woman behind the name, a hunt that takes her back to Salem in 1692 ... and the infamous witchcraft trials. But nothing is entirely as it seems and when Connie unearths the existence of Deliverance’s spell book, the Physick Book, the situation takes on a menacing edge as interested parties reveal their desperation to find this precious artefact at any cost. What secrets does the Physick Book contain? What magic is scrawled across its parchment pages? Connie must race to answer these questions – and reveal the truth about Salem’s women – before an ancient family curse once more fulfils its dark and devastating prophecy...
3.0 out of 5 based on 3 reviews
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Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
Horror & Ghost Stories |
| Format |
Paperback |
| Pages |
480 |
| RRP |
£6.99 |
| Date of Publication |
June 2009 |
| ISBN |
978-0141038117 |
| Publisher |
Penguin |
| |
While clearing out her grandmother’s cottage for sale, Connie Goodwin finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane. And so begins the hunt to uncover the woman behind the name, a hunt that takes her back to Salem in 1692 ... and the infamous witchcraft trials. But nothing is entirely as it seems and when Connie unearths the existence of Deliverance’s spell book, the Physick Book, the situation takes on a menacing edge as interested parties reveal their desperation to find this precious artefact at any cost. What secrets does the Physick Book contain? What magic is scrawled across its parchment pages? Connie must race to answer these questions – and reveal the truth about Salem’s women – before an ancient family curse once more fulfils its dark and devastating prophecy...
Published in the US under the title THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE
Reviews
The Times
Kate Saunders
"It's so original and absorbing that one readily forgives the awkwardness of some of the writing."
20/06/2009
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The Daily Mail
Kathy Stevenson
"Although a little predictable in parts, with an ending that's rather rushed, this is an engrossing read, giving a new twist to the tale of the Salem witches."
18/05/2009
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The Financial Times
Adrian Turpin
"As befits a history graduate, Howe offers fascinating detail about early colonial life and sly reflections on the way the idea of the “cunning woman” has evolved down the ages. But what could have been a rip-roaring yarn is spoiled by a predictable plot, in which the dimwit Connie spots each clue 20 pages after the reader. Sloppy language also occasionally infects the book: would the head of a Harvard department really refer to something as “very unique”?"
13/07/2009
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