About this title: Written by an author completing a Ph.D. in New England Studies, and whose ancestors had been accused witches in Salem, "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" travels seamlessly between the trials in the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery and discovery.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781401340902ISBN:1401340903
Description: New in new dust jacket. New copy from a smoke free environment, dedicated and signed. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 371 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781401340902ISBN:1401340903
Description: New in very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 371 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Advance Reading Copy
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Voice, New York:
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781401340902ISBN:1401340903
Description: A fine book in a illustrated wrappers. A heavily promoted book that transports us back to the Salem Witch trials. The author's first book to be published in October. Big promotional blurb by Matthew Pear author the Dante Club. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781401340902ISBN:1401340903
Description: New in new dust jacket. brand new / never read or sold-perfect condition-NOT BCE. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 371 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Voice
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781401340902ISBN:1401340903
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781401340902ISBN:1401340903
Description: Written by an author completing a Ph.D. in New England Studies, and whose ancestors had been accused witches in Salem, "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" travels seamlessly between the trials in the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery and... read more
Description: As New in As New jacket. First edition, first printing. As New in As New DJ, a fine unread copy. "A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history---the Salem witch trials. " read more
"I debated reading this, but when I saw that Matthew Pearl spoke highly of it on the jacket cover, I decided to pick it up.
If there were half stars, it'd get a 3.5 and I'd have gone with four if I liked the ending better. It was ok, but didn't wow me.
The story is about nearly modern day (story set in 1991) Connie Goodwin, who is tasked by mother Grace to clean out the home of her grandmother, which has been vacant for nearly 20 years. Connie is a doctoral candidate at Harvard and the home is in Marblehead, very near Salem, where the infamous witch trials were held.
Connie can barely find the home as it is over-grown with vegetation. She finds exotic vegetation in what was once a garden, and early on finds a key in a bible with a name on a piece of paper "Deliverance Dane", which sets her on a mission to learn who this woman was.
Connie believes Dane was 'convicted' in the witch trials and more importantly believes she had a 'physick book' or recipe book of potions for healing. Connie's interest is heightened in that if she finds the book it will be the first original source of its kind and would be the basis of her doctoral studies.
Connie's hunt for the book is assisted by Sam, a steeplejacker she met in Marblehead.
The story bounces from Connie's quest to the time of Deliverance Dane. As Connie gets closer to the book, odd occurrences take place and Connie clearly begins to believe in magic.
All-in-all, it was a good read, but not great. It could have had more depth and the ending left me a bit disappointed - I expected more as there was great build up."
"Connie is so close to her dream, she can almost taste it: a PhD from Harvard, with a prestigious adviser to boot. When her mom asks her to spend some time fixing up her grandmother's home in Marblehead, Mass., Connie drags her early New England studies with her. Soon, however, bizarre treasures found in the deserted home lead to a search for an antiquated book that just might be the key to Connie's success. The more she learns about this book, the more the impossible proves to be possible and between the 1600s and the present day, we learn that the witchcraft obsessed over in the Salem witch trials is more than just an imagining from the minds of some crazed teens.
On the one hand, I liked this story. I liked it for how it buried me in the search for clues. I liked spending time in Salem and its neighboring towns, and for the feel of authentic New England that practically drips from the pages. I even liked the premise that the witchcraft of old was something tangible and real - the "magic" parts of this book felt original and believable, a few parts even got a bit spooky.
What I didn't like so much was that it was a little too predicable for me. The story wasn't "spoiled," per se, and some things surprised me (in a good way) but from the beginning I had a good bit of what was going to happen all figured out. I think I was hoping that somewhere along the line I'd been thrown a real curve-ball.
That being said, I was always happy to pick it up and read it. I DID want to know how it was going to turn out. I always enjoy a book that goes back and forth from one past time-line to a present one, especially when the two together mesh together, each providing pieces to a puzzle. THAT the book did well. And when there is some magic in it, and a little love? That's the kind of story I am happy to finish with the scent of my pumpkin candle wafting towards me and a chill in the air. Happy fall :)
also...for those of you who care, this is a surprisingly clean novel :)"
"Reason for Reading: The Salem witch trials have always been a favourite reading topic of mine so this book obviously piqued my interest.
Comments: It's summer break and Connie has just finished her orals for her PhD. She intends on spending the summer coming up with a dissertation topic but her mother has asked her to clean up the ancient family home (which Connie knew nothing of) so she can sell it. Connie says yes against her better judgement and ends up spending the summer in an early 18th century home with no electricity or phone. Upon her arrival she finds a mysterious key with the name Deliverance Dane attached and so begins her research which will take her back to the 1690s and the Salem witch trials as she follows through the 18th century history of mother and daughter passing along a book of utmost importance to the family. But Connie's research also turns deadly as she falls in love with a young man who has a terrible accident and her research becomes obsessively important to a superior at school. Connie ultimately must face a shocking question when she is asked to ponder whether some of the Salem witches might actually have been real witches.
When I first started reading this book I had no idea it contained such a strong supernatural element. Fortunately, I love fantasy and to find the book delving into witch lore was a pleasant surprise on my part. I really enjoyed this book. It was a really fun read. The narrative switches back and forth from the past, 1690s and early 1700s, to Connie's modern day 1991 and also includes her reading from journals and newspapers as she researches the past. Connie herself is a likable character whose straightforward, no-nonsense character is compromised when she meets up with events that challenge her beliefs. The two storylines, past and present, are easily connected and I enjoyed them both equally well, I just wish Deliverance Dane's character had been given more background as she remains rather a vague character.
The plot itself is on the predictable side. I had several things figured out at the start of the book and always seemed to be one step ahead of the plot but, nevertheless, I did still enjoy the whole story and read the book eagerly. I also found Ms. Howe's idea of a Christian witch rather fascinating and entertaining. A unique mythology of witchcraft blended with excellently researched Puritan New England. This will be enjoyed by fans of historical fantasy"
A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history - the Salem witch trials.
Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest-to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.
As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.
Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the witch trials in the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery, intrigue and revelation.
I picked up The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane at BEA on a whim when I was at Hyperion's booth mainly because anything that has to do with witches is worth a closer look. Then it came out and hit the NYT Bestseller List, which is pretty spectacular for a debut author so I pulled it out of my never ending stack of books I want to read and set to it.
That was four days ago.
It took me four days to finish this book, which for me, is a lot. Not because I didn't like it, but because I kept going back and re-reading or pausing to contemplate. This isn't a light beach read like a lot of summer books. It's not a thrilling urban fantasy. I've seen a couple negative reviews for this book, and I think they're mostly a case of mistaken genre - readers think they're getting something light, and they're not. It's deep beautiful prose that happens to reflect on the the witch trials in Salem, and the main character, a contemporary Harvard grad student named Connie, happens to find out she is a witch.
Katherine Howe does a convincing job portraying Connie as an aggressive, ambitious intellectual striving to achieve her goals and impress her advisors, and despite her obvious intelligence, she is still filled with insecurities and worries just like the rest of us. As a character, Connie is likable. I wanted her to succeed - I wanted her to find out about Deliverance Dane, recover the ancient spell book, fall in love, and impress the world of academia with her knowledge. Her love interest, Sam, is equally complex and even more likable. He's a preservationist - or a steeplejack as he calls himself - and when Connie first meets him, she mistakes him for a handyman until he surprises her - he was a grad student once himself.
Deliverance Dane, her daughter Mercy, and granddaughter Prudence are all equally interesting despite their only minor appearance in the occasional chapters. They all appear to be strong women stuck in a time that doesn't appreciate or understand them, and of course, the well known history of Salem and the horrors of the town's history add a certain gravity to the tension of the plot. We know from the beginning Deliverance Dane most likely died in the witch trials, which is emphasized by incorporation of other "real characters" from the trials. Deliverance's conversations in jail with Sarah Good and the way she sits next to Rebecca Nurse at her trial enforce the fact that we know she's going to die. Yet still, we hope she'll somehow rally against her fate.
The pacing is slow during the first half of the book. Though intrigued by the story and enamored with the beauty and depth of Howe's prose, I read slowly and paused frequently, and then about 156 pages in, I stopped pausing. A hundred pages later, I was fully hooked, and near the end of the book, when the pace quickened and each chapter alternated between Connie in the present and Deliverance in the past, I actually got so absorbed in the book I missed my train stop. And when I finally closed the book, I felt like I was on a high - the high that comes from reading something truly extraordinary.
Katherine Howe has done an amazing job crafting this amazing story, but The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is a novel that needs to be savored and read slowly and appreciated as great fiction and great writing."
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