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The Afflicted Girls

by Suzy Witten (Goodreads Author)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 35 ratings · 14 reviews

"Something terrible happened in Salem in 1692 . . . but it isn't what you think!"
THE AFFLICTED GIRLS A Novel of Salem by author-researcher Suzy Witten presents a startling new theory of the Salem Village witch-hunts which is certain to put this 300-year-old unsettled mystery to rest . . . by expertly guiding readers through the Historical Record to revelation. Part parabl...more

Paperback, 456 pages

Published November 20th 2009 by DREAMWAND (first published October 31st 2009)

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Aug 04, 2011 Jo Butler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Imagine a town, carved out of wilderness nearly four hundred years ago by a small group of settlers. The leaders who ruled this colony were guided by the Bible and English law, and by their own ruthless determination. Residents who did not bow to the colony’s governors and ministers were expelled. The colony survived internal conflict and a brief war with the region’s indigenous people, and came to prosper.

Sixty years later, most of the old leaders have passed to their heavenly rewards. The seco...more Imagine a town, carved out of wilderness nearly four hundred years ago by a small group of settlers. The leaders who ruled this colony were guided by the Bible and English law, and by their own ruthless determination. Residents who did not bow to the colony’s governors and ministers were expelled. The colony survived internal conflict and a brief war with the region’s indigenous people, and came to prosper.

Sixty years later, most of the old leaders have passed to their heavenly rewards. The second generation is in control, and their children and grandchildren are chafing under increasingly rigid laws. There are more colonists now, battling over divided estates. The soil, never rich, is depleted after a half-century of intensive farming.

Discontent and dispossession, envy, old feuds never settled, and newly risen conflicts have the region simmering. Add to this sullen mix a strong belief that witchcraft often stands behind one’s downturn in life, the loss of a newborn child, the death of livestock, or even a wet dream about an attractive female tavern-keeper. Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692 is primed to explode, and witchcraft accusations provide the spark.

With an intriguing new cause for the possession of Salem Village’s bewitched girls, Suzy Witten’s “The Afflicted Girls” is a dramatic account of the Salem witchcraft outbreak. In this poignant tale, teenaged girls in the grip of hallucinogens, and misguided by boredom, malice, or simply drunk with power, turn neighbors against one another. Magistrates and ministers accept “spectral evidence” with deadly results when the possessed girls report visions of their tormentors cavorting with Satan.

If demonic possession wasn’t enough, Ms. Witten also presents a woeful look into the life of an indentured servant, subject to the abuse and lusts of her masters. I wanted to whisk poor Mercy Lewis away from the Putnam family and give her a new chance at life. I also wish to heartily recommend “The Afflicted Girls.”

Jo Ann Butler (a descendant of the Putnam family) is the author of “A Scandalous Life: Rebel Puritan,” published in 2011 by Neverest Press. She can be reached at joann@rebelpuritan.com.
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Mar 16, 2010 Gwyn Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This realistic novelization of the Salem Witch Trials was a joy to read. I often shy from historical fiction, particularly novels in which the author has held close to the true events (as Witten clearly has done), because I usually find them dry and lacking in a clear narrative voice. Witten's novel suffers neither of these defects -- her characters are fully developed with voices that inspire sincere empathy. Witten provides a rational and convincing set of circumstances that could realisticall...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Paulette Mahurin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Suzy Witten’s The Afflicted Girls is a masterfully interwoven story of a dark period in history, the Salem Witch Trials, a debacle of deceit by false accusations of young girls, spun out of control to devastating consequences of injustice and death to innocents. The horror of a lie, that spreads like the plague to catch its victims and hold them to the destruction of others, is sewn into the story line way early on, so the reader knows what is to come and as the tension builds so does the mind b...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Wendy Bertsch rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Salem Witch Trials have fascinated people for over 300 years. A frenzy of accusation and executions, followed by recantation and vindication—but much too late. It’s the stuff of horror stories.

How could this madness be triggered by the wild accusations of children and adolescents? Oh, so easily. There’s always someone who has something to gain...

The author has spun a terrifying tale, drawing us deftly into the minds and hearts of the major characters. Her story makes sense. It could have hap...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Ana Mardoll rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Afflicted Girls / 978-0-615-32313-8

It is my belief that any historical novel must be subjected to two questions in a review - first, is the material historically accurate, and second, is the material pleasant and engaging to read.

In answer to the first question, as an avid student of the Salem witch trials, I can say that "The Afflicted Girls" is the least historically-accurate Salem artifact I have encountered. Much of the novel feels like a very loose re-write of Arthur Miller's "The Cruc...more The Afflicted Girls / 978-0-615-32313-8

It is my belief that any historical novel must be subjected to two questions in a review - first, is the material historically accurate, and second, is the material pleasant and engaging to read.

In answer to the first question, as an avid student of the Salem witch trials, I can say that "The Afflicted Girls" is the least historically-accurate Salem artifact I have encountered. Much of the novel feels like a very loose re-write of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" - popular antagonist Abigail Williams is again given an age upgrade from her historical 11 years of age to a sexually tantalizing 16 years of age so that she can feel up men, rape young boys, and have masturbatory fantasies about her uncle Parris. Major societal details have been changed - far too many of the characters are literate as a plot-device, and pretty much all of the Puritan girls running around Salem are sexually active and without a single thought to accidental pregnancy (some brief mention is made of birth control herbs).

As for the trials, the actual details of the trials have been totally rewritten. The order in which the accused were arrested, tried, and executed is arbitrarily changed. One of the accusing girls - protagonist Mercy Lewis - never actually testifies in court, and her role as accuser, and then accused, and then accuser again is completely rewritten. Several people who were either executed or left in prison until finally bonded out at the end of the trials have now been rescued in a completely narrative-breaking adventure jail-break sequence. This isn't even to mention that the entire novel only covers the events up to and including the first, initial set of hangings - barely a fraction of the Salem story. Indeed, so much has been removed, changed, or omitted, that I do not understand why the author didn't just use different names and make this completely fictional, instead of marketing this as a Salem novel.

So, now that we've established that teachers won't be handing out copies of "The Afflicted Girls" in history class, the next question is, is it a good story? The answer, for me at least, is 'no' - too much of the narrative is sensationalized and lurid for me to have derived enjoyment out of it. Protagonist Mercy Lewis is a textbook example of a "Mary Sue" character - she's an orphan who taught herself to read, has the unique talent of being able to completely read and commit to memory any sheet of paper just by glancing at it, and can recognize and quote back Shakespeare at the drop of a hat (and she does this a lot). All this, and she's survived years of childhood trauma being raped repeatedly by her master George Burroughs - a minister who not only raped her repeatedly, but did so whilst reciting a Black Mass in Latin.

Somewhat frustratingly, Mercy has the distressing talent of being raped by almost every person she meets - to paraphrase Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, if you left her alone in a waiting room for an hour, she'd find a way to get raped by a chair. What is more disturbing is that these scenes are always presented from the attackers' points of view, as something exciting and erotic for the reader, rather than from the victim's point of view as something horrible and traumatizing. Add on the fact that Mercy has a bad habit of picking herself up afterward as if nothing happened, and in one case excusing and falling in love with her attacker, and you have a recipe for very unpleasant reading material.

The violence isn't just limited to Mercy Lewis - this 450+ page novel feels less like a vehicle for telling the story of the Salem trials and more like a dark erotic novel. There isn't a single major male character in this novel who isn't a rapist - Rev. Parris purchased Tituba specifically for gratification and sold off their children for pocket-money; Thomas and Joseph Putnam both have extremely brutal scenes with Mercy, and Joseph (the main love interest of the story) frequently and deliberately hurts his girls in order to humiliate them; the doctor who attends the afflicted girls openly goes about raping them with their mothers in the same room (and also has the unique ability of being able to detect an "intact" hymen by *smell*, a detail that was less lurid and more ludicrous); and I could go on and on.

Almost every chapter contains a sexual interlude, most of them violent, cruel, humiliating, and uncomfortably detailed and varied - pretty much every possible variation of the sex act is on display here. Abigail Williams, being the antagonist, doesn't get raped by anyone (although she basically outright asks one man to do so and is offended when he refuses), but she does drug a boy and force herself onto him.

Apart from anything else, this novel is written very poorly and the pacing is frustratingly slow and tiresome. For a novel concerning the Salem trials, it is worthy of note that the first accusation doesn't occur until the mid-point of the novel - that's over 200 pages of backstory and rape before the Salem story even starts. The author frequently breaks off mid-narrative to give parenthetical backstory, often about things the reader doesn't care about. For instance, if Abigail walks into her uncle's study and smells the faint whiff of tobacco, the author will then break off a full page to explain, in parenthesis, how Parris got the tobacco, when he last smoked it, how his wife feels about that particular habit, and how she usually aired the room better, but somehow forgot to do so today, so that was why Abigail was able to smell it upon her arrival. This sort of narrative break happens frequently, and the book is poorer for it. I feel that with a talented editor to excise these parenthetical intrusions, the book would be shorter, the story would be tighter, and the whole thing would be more worth reading - assuming the lack of historical accuracy and the high incidence of sexual violence didn't put you off.

NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through the author.

~ Ana Mardoll(less)

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Feb 11, 2011 Shellie (Layers of Thought) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: historical fiction lovers

Recommended to Shellie (Layers of Thought) by: Suzy Witten

Shelves: genre-historical-fiction, genre-women-gender-feminism, blog-reviews, element-dark-disfunctional, favorites, read-in-2011

Original review posted at Layers of Thought.

Actually 4.5 stars.

When two young friends, both orphans, arrive in Salem MA in 1692, the litigious and imbalanced nature of a community sets in motion a horrific series of events. The author uses a unique perspective around why she thinks this may have occurred.

About: This is set around actual events where the warped moral boundaries and a desire for revenge inflame the emotions of a local pastor and a selfish young woman. Situations are manipulated fo...more Original review posted at Layers of Thought.

Actually 4.5 stars.

When two young friends, both orphans, arrive in Salem MA in 1692, the litigious and imbalanced nature of a community sets in motion a horrific series of events. The author uses a unique perspective around why she thinks this may have occurred.

About: This is set around actual events where the warped moral boundaries and a desire for revenge inflame the emotions of a local pastor and a selfish young woman. Situations are manipulated for personal gain, culminating in the hanging deaths of a number of its core community members - for witchcraft. Bloody scary!

It’s a historical novel about this infamous North American witch hunt, with a slightly different take on the original. The author’s slant is very plausible and extremely intriguing. While not giving this key piece away, let’s say that through some research and a bit of insightful luck or brilliance, Suzy Witten has added a theory around this 200 year old story which has created a page turning twist of a tale - a very good one at that.

Thoughts: One of my favorite genres is horror, so I devoured this story. At the same time, because it is based on a true story it is all the more terrifying, especially since it is entirely possible that something of this nature could happen again. As well as its plausible and intriguing twist, it has complex and well developed characters - many are easy to relate to and likable while others are naturally despicable. With its insight, it feels like a study in human nature with extreme examples of human failings. I was left on the “edge of my seat” (or the bed since I usually read at night). At one point I had to set the book aside with the downward spiraling events.

Another element which I liked is that there is “lustiness” as a large thread throughout the story, giving it darkness and juiciness which in my opinion did not become unrealistic and standardized (one of my peeves). So if you’re looking for a “clean” read this is not a good book for you. Witten also uses language that is accessible yet with a slightly “old English style” so that you feel like it is set within the period which it occurred. These elements give depth to the story and make it perfect for a historical fiction novel.

This is an impressive independently published debut novel, even though the author has extensive writing experience - she is a Walt Disney Studios Fellowship Finalist, which you can definitely tell by reading this book. The Afflicted Girls is also the winner of The 2010 IPPY Silver Medal for Historical Fiction (Independent Publisher Book Awards). I would say that this book deserves 4.5 stars. I will be waiting for Suzy Witten’s next book since I think she is a talented writer and am curious why this book has not been snapped up by a bigger publisher. Highly recommended!(less)

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Dec 13, 2011 Suzy Witten rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

THE COPPERFIELD REVIEW
A Journal of History and Fiction
Winter Issue 2011

"The Afflicted Girls"
Review by Paula Day

There is that stand by concern about how historically accurate one must be when writing historical fiction. Some will argue that writers of historical fiction should be 100% accurate, as if novelists were stand-ins for historians. After all, they say, if one is writing with historical information, then one should share that information accurately. Others will argue that perhaps the fac...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading this book was a lot like watching the movie The Titanic. No matter how hard you gesture toward the screen, you can't make that boat turn faster. No matter much I hoped for certain characters to triumph, I knew what was coming. The story is heart-breaking at times, fills you with anger one moment, and then leaves you with a glimmer of hope. Very well written, this story will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and leave you reflecting on on human nature both historically and in...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting. Suzy Whitten weaves an intriguing tale. Not entirely historically accurate but engaging. Note, this is a dark story with a strong sexual element so not appropriate for YA readers.

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Jun 22, 2012 Vivisection rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I heard this book was rape-y. But damn. I didn't expect it to be THAT rape-y. There is not a single good man in this novel; not a single man who hasn't put his penis somewhere adulterous, unwanted, or underage. Except for John Indian. And what a stereotype he was.

The women were marginally better, being mostly victims and passive under the tutelage of their menfolk who were "ministers at home."

Can't decide if this is a scathing indictment of men, Puritans, Christians or history. Either way, ther...more

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May 04, 2011 Elizabeth Periale rated it 2 of 5 stars

My review - more 2 and 3/4 stars - my review - http://xoxoxoe.blogspot.com/2011/02/a...

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Jun 16, 2011 Moriah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Superb story, well-researched, skillfully written and highly entertaining.

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Mar 08, 2010 Julie Ann Dawson rated it 4 of 5 stars

My full review is available here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...

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Apr 13, 2010 Adele Clagett added it

Shelves: did-not-finish-reading

I'm afraid I was not able to "get into" this book. Note: There are somewhat explicit sex/rape scenes. I'm not stating whether that is good or bad, just a warning. I did not expect that for this book.

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About Suzy Witten

Suzy Witten's career spans twenty years in the entertainment industry: as a filmmaker, screenwriter, story analyst, and editor for film and television. A graduate of USC's School of Cinematic Arts, she was nominated for a Women In Film filmmaking award, and was a Walt Disney Studios Fellowship Finalist for her story of Salem. Currently, she works as an External Affairs program liaison during disas...more

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