Witch Child by Celia Rees details the story of Mary Newbury and her journey from a witch trial in England that nearly cost her life, to her newNew England near Salem in 1659. Told in diary format as a series of entries we get Mary's first-hand account of her grandmother's trial and her journey to the dangerous new land of America.
Reading this story I am once again struck how easily superstition can take ahold of an ignorant populace and drive them to madness. We see this in England, on the ship to the new world and in New England as well.
Mary's magic is a subtle sort. Despite some fantastic embellishments the scenes with magic could be explained via science and imagination or they could honestly be magic.
The book itself is a quick read and the conclusion, while what I expected, was still enjoyable. The story could have been set in the same time and place as The Witch, Eyes of Fire and the Daylight Gate.
I will admit the cover struck me. It reminds me of the cover of the WitchCraft RPG.
There is a sequel to this, but I have not picked it up yet.
2017 Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Books Read so far: 2
Level: Initiate
Witches in this book: 3
Are Good Witches or Bad Witches: 3 at least.
Best RPG to Emulate it: Again, Colonial Gothic 3.0
Use in WotWQ: Maybe. I love the idea of the scared villagers as a potential "monster" here.
http://www.celiarees.com/books/witchchild.html
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