Katherine Howe's first novel The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is definitely one of the best books I have read in a long time. Ms. Howe tells the story of Connie Goodwin, a doctoral candidate in American History, who spends the summer clearing out her grandmother's house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and ends up discovering Deliverance Dane, a woman condemned as a witch in 1692 Salem. While looking through the old books in the study, Connie discovers a very old key in a bible. Inside the key is an equally old slip of paper with the name, Deliverance Dane. While looking for information on Deliverance, Connie meets Sam, a very well educated restorer of all things old, while he is restoring a church steeple.
http://www.physickbook.com/
Told through flashbacks, we learn the story of Deliverance Dane, her family, and the Receipt book which is handed down from one generation to the next.
As Connie attempts to get the house ready to sell, she also searches for source material for her Doctorate course of study and is encourage by the adviser to find Deliverance's physick (charms and spells) book.
This book will be on sale in June, so put it on your TBR list and pick up a copy. In my opinion, you won't be disappointed. I hope the binding on the finished copy is half as well done as it is on the ARC. With a flap covering the pages, beautiful artwork, and thick paper, this book will definitely stay in my library.
1 comment:
damn I could kick myself for not keeping up with the readings at B&N's First Look!! This does sound like a good read.
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