The First Witch of Boston - by Andrea Catalano (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A gripping and intimate novel based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman to be found guilty of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1646. Thomas and Margaret Jones arrive from England to build a life in the New World. Though of differing temperaments, cautious Thomas and fiery Margaret, a healer, are bound by a love that has lasted decades. With a child on the way, their new beginning promises only blessings.

But in this austere Puritan community, comely faces hide malicious intent. Wrong moves or words are met with suspicion, and Margaret's bold and unguarded nature draws scorn. Soon, Margaret is mistrusted as more cunning woman than kind caregiver. And when personal tragedies, religious hysteria, and wariness of the unknown turn most against her, even the devotion Margaret and her husband share is at risk.

Inspired by actual diary entries and court records, The First Witch of Boston is at once the riveting story of a woman unjustly accused and a love story set amid the political and social turmoil of both Old and New England. Harrowing, and with a deep understanding of the human heart, history is brilliantly imagined.

Review Quotes

"Fans of The Frozen River will love The First Witch of Boston! Fiery, outspoken Margaret Jones and her husband, Thomas, find themselves outliers in straitlaced Puritan Boston, but trouble back in England leaves them no choice but to make a home in Massachusetts. When Thomas draws the spite of a local widow and Margaret's skill with healing herbs rouses suspicion of black magic, both will find themselves battling witch-hunters in a court case destined to make history. Andrea Catalano draws a tender, intimate portrait of a marriage and a bold defense of an independent woman ahead of her time." --Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

"A sumptuous and heartrending tale of the dark power of fear, loss, and love against all odds, The First Witch of Boston is a moving and accomplished debut." --Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of Queens of London

"I knew I was going to love this novel from the first page, where Andrea Catalano immerses you in the world of seventeenth-century Boston. Her research is impeccable but never gets in the way of a gripping, emotional story. Thomas Jones's love for his outspoken, opinionated wife, Maggie, and hers for him, are beautifully described, and their tragedy is almost Shakespearean. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time." --Gill Paul, internationally bestselling author of Scandalous Women

"Andrea Catalano's The First Witch of Boston conjures the treacherous history of witches, women, and injustice in America. Her research is ambitious and beyond impeccable. But it is the exquisite portrayal of a marriage that is the star at the beating heart of this novel, and the best I've read in years." --Kimberly Brock, bestselling author of The Fabled Earth and The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

"Catalano's timely and heart-wrenching treatise about the injustices against women in early America will leave traces etched in the reader's soul. Sensory, sensual, and evocative, The First Witch of Boston is the not-to-be-missed historical fiction debut of the season." --Aimie K. Runyan, bestselling author of The School for German Brides and Mademoiselle Eiffel

"What a wonderful, moving novel. Catalano's debut is great historical fiction that brings the past alive in an exquisitely human, truly emotional way. I absolutely loved it." --Megan Chance, bestselling author of Glamorous Notions

"A brilliant debut, full of passion, peril, and heartbreak. Between her gorgeous prose and her endearing characters, Andrea Catalano has established herself as one of the most exciting new authors in historical fiction." --Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow

"A rare and powerful debut--one that will hold you in thrall from beginning to end. Catalano gives voice to all the passion, anguish, and injustice surrounding the life and death of a woman who deserved a better fate than the one history dealt her. Lyrically written and impeccably researched, The First Witch of Boston settles into the deepest places in your soul, and remains there long after finishing. An artful, important masterpiece of historical fiction." --Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain