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Ladataan... Puritan Witch: The Redemption of Rebecca EamesTekijä: Peni Jo Renner
- Ei tämänhetkisiä Keskustelu-viestiketjuja tästä kirjasta.  TheTrueBookAddict | Mar 22, 2020 |   I managed to pace myself and spread the reading over two nights! I savored every single word. Impressive historical accuracy. I could "feel" each characters feelings, love, fear, despair and downright terror. I felt as if I could each one's voice as I read. I almost felt as if I was there. The fact that the author is actually the ninth great granddaughter of the title character resounds in Ms. Renner's writing. I understand it is a work of fiction, but the history is there, well researched and brought to the fore in a most plausible and enthralling way. I applaud Ms. Renner for bringing to light the story of her ancestor's (fictional though it is), in a most endearing and honorable work. I was thoroughly engaged in reading this book and will not sully my review with spoilers. (  ) bb007rn | Nov 19, 2014 | I love reading about the Salem Witch Trials, it was such an interesting part of our history. I enjoyed that this book focused on the story of a survivor of the trials. Peni Jo Renner offered insight into how Rebecca's life before she had been accused of witchcraft and gave the reader a good feel of what it was like to live during that time period. Rebecca Eames lives a hard-working life on her farm with her family. However, the Eames family have been in a long dispute with their neighbors, the Swans. When the hysteria from Salem reaches Andover, the Eames and Swan family dispute reaches it boiling point. Rebecca lashes out against her neighbor. " It was known that out of sheer spite, Robert Swan had ordered his sons to chop down a neighbor's orchard. The Eames family had also fallen under Swan's wrath, and a cavernous rift had grown between the two households. Blood simmered in her veins like a kettle over a low fire, and she bit her lips to keep from speaking her mind...'Damn you, Robert Swan!' Rebecca blurted. 'And may the devil himself visit your home!'" There is a clear picture of some of the small small political disputes that caused the demise of so many people. Rebecca's story begins with an emotional outburst against her neighbor. Soon after, she is accused of witchcraft and a clear picture is painted of the time Rebecca spent in prison enduring physical and psychological pain. There is a good mix of fact and fiction; enough fiction to keep the story interesting and kept me reading, but also enough facts to match what I already know of the trials. It was probably the most interesting to learn of how Rebecca Eames survived the trials and the hangings and returned to her former life. (  ) Mishker | May 17, 2014 | We look back upon the Salem Witch trials and wonder at how the hysteria caused so much damage. Witch hunts occured during 1692, the accusations more personal and political than anything else. You have land, I want it- you'r a witch! You were mean to me and uttered sarcastic comments- you're a witch! You have a birthmark on your face- it's a sign of the devil and...well you get the picture. Growing up in Massachusetts, not too far from Salem, I've visited all the sites. Been to the witch museum, Gallows Hill, the cemeteries. Heard the stories about Giles Corey, Dorcas Good, Rebecca Nurse and many others. I enjoy reading about the individuals accused during this dark period in America's history. Rebecca Eame's was an intersting charcter. She actually confessed to the sin of witchcraft, and she implicated her son Daniel. She stated he was baptized by the devil himself! She later retracted her confession and was eventually exonorated. However, her life was essentially ruined by this event. This is an extremely readable and fascinating story. Many of the women familiar to students and readers of the witch trials are featured in this book. The author, Penni Jo Renner, is actually a descendant of Rebecca Eames. This makes the story even more interesting! Renner doesn't sugar coat anything. We see Rebecca with all her flaws. We see the pain Rebecca and her family suffered as a result of the trials. I really enjoyed this book. Ms. Renner has written a fascinating book. I was not able to put it down and actually re-read the book once I was finished. If you are a fan of biographies, Salem witch trials or American history, you will most likely enjoy this well written, well researched book. I give it 5/5 stars. ( ) ljldml | May 3, 2014 | näyttää 4/4 ei arvosteluja | lisää arvostelu
On a cold night in 1692, two young girls are caught up in the divining games of a slave woman--and then begin to act very strangely when the game goes wrong. Suddenly, Salem Village is turned upside down as everyone fears that witches may be involved. Six months later, as news of the girls' strange behavior becomes known, fear and suspicion overwhelm a nearby farming community, pitting neighbors against neighbors and turning friends into enemies. When Rebecca Eames makes one careless utterance during a verbal attack on her family, she is falsely accused of witchcraft. After her fate is decided by three magistrates, Rebecca must endure a prison sentence during which she and her fellow captives have no choice but to valiantly struggle to find humanity and camaraderie among dire conditions. In this novel based on a true story, a woman wrongly imprisoned during the seventeenth-century witchcraft trials comes full circle where she must determine if she can somehow resume her life, despite all she has endured. "Elegantly written, meticulously researched, and historically accurate, the author's work rings true. ... Renner's vast talent as a writer is enhanced by the fact that she's telling the story of her own family, completely captivating from beginning to end." --Kelly Z. Conrad, award-winning author of Shaman "In the colonial-era tale Puritan Witch, the plight of Rebecca Eames and her family plays out against the backdrop of one of the most intriguing periods in American history." --Julie Castillo, writer and editor KIRKUS REVIEW Renner's debut novel uses her ancestor's life story to reflect on the paranoia and persecution in Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Blake Eames (1641-1721) was Renner's ninth great-grandmother. The novel opens in 1692 on a familiar scene: slave woman Tituba is showing two girls a folk magic trick. All seems harmless until the girls start convulsing--apparently victims of witchcraft. This incident, which sparked Salem's witch trials, is best known through Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Renner's parallel story is set in nearby Andover, Massachusetts, where news of these strange afflictions arrived months ago. A feud between the Swan and Eames families comes to a head when Rebecca curses the patriarch publicly: "Damn you, Robert Swan!...And may the devil himself visit your home!" Her seeming familiarity with the devil leads to her arrest on charges of witchcraft, and she and her son, Daniel, are thrown in a dungeon. Renner paints a harrowing picture of primitive prison life. Beatings, fleas and slop buckets are only the beginning; worse, Rebecca suspects that 4-year-old Dorcas Good, also imprisoned, has been sexually assaulted. Through flashbacks, readers learn that Rebecca believes she is being punished for committing adultery early in her marriage. She fakes a confession about her involvement with Satan and is sentenced to hang with eight others. She's saved by chance--they are one noose short. The prose memorably uses period props, as in "the breeze extinguished the tallow candle." Renner's deep research is especially evident in descriptions of illnesses; she writes of "jail fever," apoplexy and gangrene, which necessitates a grisly amputation. Historical figures like Cotton Mather and Judge Hathorne fit in neatly, and the close third-person narration allows access to Rebecca's and her husband's thoughts. A subplot about their daughter Dorothy's romance with Samuel Swan and her foiled abduction by Indians sputters but doesn't distract from the central tale. An intimate fictionalization of a dark incident from Colonial history. Kirjastojen kuvailuja ei löytynyt. |
LibraryThing-kirjailijaPeni Jo Renner on LibraryThing-kirjailija, kirjailija, jonka henkilökohtainen kirjasto on LibraryThingissä. Current Discussions-Suosituimmat kansikuvat  
 Google Books — Ladataan...Arvio (tähdet)Keskiarvo: (4.63)
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Puritan Witch is based on the true story of Rebecca Eames, who experienced the trials as one of the accused. The author is a descendant, Rebecca being her ninth great-grandmother. The story is told from Rebecca's point of view and has an authentic biographical tone. One could almost believe that it was an actual written account from Rebecca's own hand.
The horrors experienced by the people accused in the trials are almost beyond belief. And anyone could be accused on a whim. If you had a vendetta with a neighbor, you could just accuse them of witchcraft. It really was mass hysteria. That's the only way I can describe it. The author tells the story vividly and so the reader really feels what Rebecca went through. The deplorable conditions in the 'dungeon', as they called it, and the shocking humiliation of the physical examination in front of all, including the shaving of the hair on the head and pubis, was almost too much to bare. One cannot read such a book without a heavy heart.
This time in our history is one that all Americans should regret. It is something that should never have happened, but it did. Books like Puritan Witch are important because they remind us of a terrible history that should never be repeated. If you are interested in the history of the Salem trials or American history in general, this is a book you should definitely read.
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