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61st out of 268 books
—
1,388 voters
Deliverance from Evil
by
Frances Hill
"Salem, Massachusetts, Winter 1692: " In the parsonage of Reverend Samuel Parris, two young girls are seated by the fire and play at fortune-telling as snow falls softly outside. What starts as a game sends one of the girls into a hysterical trance, and a small town begins its descent into madness. Accusations of witchcraft would destroy lives and old scores would be settl...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
March 3rd 2011
by Overlook Hardcover
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Just finished reading Deliverance from Evil by Frances Hill (New York: Overlook Press, 2011), a fictional account of the witchcraft trials centering on George Burroughs. It’s an interesting yet frustrating read. His third wife, Mary, the author “invented her story, personality, and appearance. The part of the novel concerning her journey from Salem to Albany is pure fiction, as is the relationship between her and Peter White.” (And Peter White is a totally made up character.) Did his wife really...more
Deliverance from Evil revolves around George Burroughs, a minister who is swept up in the Salem witchcraft trials. I've read several books, fiction and non-fiction, about the trials, and was interested in what Hill had to say. She's written scholarly works about the trials. Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish the novel.
First, though, it's obvious that Hill is an expert on the subject. The period details are wonderful and I did get a great sense of what was going on with the young women who beg...more
First, though, it's obvious that Hill is an expert on the subject. The period details are wonderful and I did get a great sense of what was going on with the young women who beg...more
http://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/...
My apologies to the author, but I had to give up on this one.
Hill is a renowned historian on the Salem witch trials, and I thought the premise sounded fascinating. I remember visiting Salem, Massachusetts, when I was 16 years old, so the topic appealed to me. I love great historical fiction. I should have paid closer attention to the negative or lackluster reviews, though.
About the only positive thing I can say is that the author clearly knows her history...more
My apologies to the author, but I had to give up on this one.
Hill is a renowned historian on the Salem witch trials, and I thought the premise sounded fascinating. I remember visiting Salem, Massachusetts, when I was 16 years old, so the topic appealed to me. I love great historical fiction. I should have paid closer attention to the negative or lackluster reviews, though.
About the only positive thing I can say is that the author clearly knows her history...more
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I have always been intrigued by the Salem Witch Trials and so a work of historical fiction on the topic appealed to me.
Deliverance From Evil: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials is written by Frances Hill, historian on the subject and writer of non-fiction works as well.
I struggled with this book initially. Hill introduces so many characters so quickly, making her habit of head hopping even more annoying than it might otherwise be. There were times I had to stop and backtrack to figure out who was...more
Deliverance From Evil: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials is written by Frances Hill, historian on the subject and writer of non-fiction works as well.
I struggled with this book initially. Hill introduces so many characters so quickly, making her habit of head hopping even more annoying than it might otherwise be. There were times I had to stop and backtrack to figure out who was...more
Deliverance from Evil is a meticulously researched and intricately written fictional account of the Salem witch trials of 1692. The author, historian, Frances Hill, has used her expert knowledge to bring to life a town steeped in superstition, and grievous rumour.
The story opens with two girls playing at fortune telling, they little realise what repercussions their actions will have, as soon an evil miasma pervades the town, and friends and neighbours are betrayed and subjected to horrific specu...more
The story opens with two girls playing at fortune telling, they little realise what repercussions their actions will have, as soon an evil miasma pervades the town, and friends and neighbours are betrayed and subjected to horrific specu...more
This book wasn't all I thought it would be. It was choppy in the beginning, jumping back and forth between places, and characters, never really getting to know any character in depth. It started to get interesting about halfway through. Finally delving into some of the relationships between characters. I really felt it was missing something though,... I just didn't get "lost in it" as I have in other reads ( a quality I look for). The author paid great attention to historical details and accurac...more
When I first picked up this book I didn't expect much, another book on a very familiar subject. However, by the end of the book I was sobbing, and wondering, yet again, over how we humans can be so cruel to one another, and how easily we believe folly or ill of others, often in the name of "God". It is sad to the extreme that so much death, destruction, torture, harm, evilness, and hatred has come in the name of religions and how sad that this is still, today - going on and that we are watching...more
I kept at this book for about 65 pages. I never, ever stop reading a book once I start one, however this book was so incredibly boring. I love any books having to do with the Salem Witch Trials, and was very much looking forward to reading this, which made it especially difficut to give up reading. Oh well. I think the biggest problem was that Ms. Hill just kept adding too many characters to the story. I realize she is a historian, and probably has a difficult time letting go of facts in the tel...more
I didn't finish reading it. I gave up on page 81, after the four thousandth character was introduced. I NEVER quit on books (because I'm convinced they inevitably get awesome about 4 pages after I stop reading), but Hill was just throwing out characters without giving us anything to link them to in order to keep them straight. It was also kinda boring. It was like a poorly conceived and executed re-working of "The Crucible." All the characters were the same, but you weren't invested in them. The...more
Aug 05, 2011
Ginny Crippen
added it
There is so much sensationalism regarding the Salem Witch trials I became intrigued and had to learn a little more about it. This book is insightful because a lot of the witch trials were, in fact, politically motivated. Puritans, Anglican and Quaker religions were all different and garrisons/settlements/cities/towns in what was called "The New World" were founded on religion which evolved into power and politics. Very interesting. Tidbit: Witches were not burned at the stake---witches were hung...more
I have read a few books on Salem now and it never ceased to shock me how easily people can turn on friends,neighbours and even family often due to envy,spite,greed or fear.
Just start a little rumour and people are always willing to believe the worst of people.
What's worse here is they are supposed to be Christian too.
Witch hunts unfortunately still go on today as do those little rumours which can destroy people.
However it is also clear that there are always people willing to stand up for what th...more
Just start a little rumour and people are always willing to believe the worst of people.
What's worse here is they are supposed to be Christian too.
Witch hunts unfortunately still go on today as do those little rumours which can destroy people.
However it is also clear that there are always people willing to stand up for what th...more
I read this historical fiction novel (started June 17 and finished June 23) set during America's history that to this day is still difficult to actually believe that something as horrible as the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 happened, and that innocent people were accused just for their beliefs.
Please see below for my review of this excellent historical fiction novel by Frances Hill titled "Deliverance From Evil: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials".
I found this novel to be quite good. Finding a goo...more
Please see below for my review of this excellent historical fiction novel by Frances Hill titled "Deliverance From Evil: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials".
I found this novel to be quite good. Finding a goo...more
I had hoped this would be an exceptional book since the author is an historian and apparently somewhat of an expert on the Salem Witch Trials, but I was disappointed. Her writing style is more journalistic than a novelist. She introduced far too many characters who were never fully developed and I felt like I was reading just plain fiction...not HISTORICAL fiction, although the author's note state that much of the material is based on actual fact. Thumbs down!
The prose was a major distraction to the story. This is told (not on purpose) in a very stilted and disjointed way. Just when you think you're making some headway with a character the author chops to the next scene. There must be better historical fiction about the Salem trials out there, read that instead.
I still like The Physick of Deliverance Dane as best choice if you are only going to read one historical fiction book about the witches of Salem. This was more of the same confusion, accusations, who is really telling the truth? deliverance Dane had a couple of other plots going simultaneously making it a more engaging read.
"Read" is a misnomer - this book was so horrifically bad, I couldn't even finish it. The writing was just...not good, which really disappointed me - I know the author knows this subject and knows it well, but she really needs to stick to nonfiction. I so wanted to love this book - I'd been looking fwd to it for awhile, but UGH!
Not the best Salem Witch Trial book I've ever read but the character of Rev. Burroughs was pretty interesting. Having read the entire Samuel Sewell diaries in grad school, I think there could have been more depth to his character. It was ok, it killed a few hours.
May 28, 2011
Ann Marie
added it
I am not starring this one...Great cover, interesting story idea but I personnally could not read it the way it was written...I cannot honestly say as to whether or not it was a good book because I could not get past the first chapter...I did sneak a peek inside a bit further but it was written the same way...
A nicely written read on the Salem Witch Trials. I liked the protagonists well enough, but I felt they could have been even more engaging—I would've liked connecting even deeper with them. I really don't think it's half so badly written as most seem to claim.
I know this is a fiction novel. But after some reserch I found that several of the characters and occurences in the book were indeed real. If you are interested in the Salem witch trials, go out and get this one.
Although you know the ending it was an interesting look at the Salem Witch trials from the position of an accused. Also, all that went into trying to stop the trials - the futility of them. Good story.
The evil in this book does not stem from Satan... Rather it comes from deep inside the human psyche from jealousy, bitterness, and resentment.
A passage in here sums it up really well. (I have an ARC so things may be different in the actual publication.)
"For his unknowable ends God had made men and women capable of causing terrible harm to one another, of not only, in the words of the psalm, breathing out cruelty, but of acting out cruelty. Those who thought themselves righteous, it seemed, often...more
A passage in here sums it up really well. (I have an ARC so things may be different in the actual publication.)
"For his unknowable ends God had made men and women capable of causing terrible harm to one another, of not only, in the words of the psalm, breathing out cruelty, but of acting out cruelty. Those who thought themselves righteous, it seemed, often...more
I got this on a whim from the library.. not my normal read but enjoyed it. I do agree that she introduces so many characters at once, I found it hard to keep track.
My failure to finish this book has nothing to do with its quality or the author's skill. It's just that I've read my share of fictionalized accounts of the Salem witch trials--this one was actually one of the best--and about halfway through, I realized I wasn't up to reading about the destruction of yet more lives.
i thought this book was amazing it made u feel that u were right in the middle of it all. the writer had a way of making u really understand the mindset of the ppl at the time. great book
I really enjoyed this book. The mix of fact and fiction intertwined to bring a heart rending story that rings true. The characters based on fact and then embellished, really grasped the tone of the time. A great book!
Very good book... would have given it 5 stars if it had been easier to read. I had to reread lots of sentences that weren't clear. But absolutely loved the story!
My only problem with this book was I already knew the outcome, but as historical fiction is it well written and well researched.
A bit choppy. I felt a bit of a disconnect with the characters. It started out pretty good and then lost its flow.
The subject matter is interesting but the way this novel was written it's kind of dry and hard to get through. It fell kind of flat for me. More like reading an actual history book instead of a novel.
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