The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe begins in 1681 when a mysterious woman is brought to the bedside of a young girl stricken with a sudden illness. The girl’s father regards the woman with a mixture of distrust and hope, and the scene ends before the reader finds out the outcome. The novel switches at this point to 1991 by introducing Connie Goodwin, History PhD candidate at Harvard, just as she is completing her exhausting oral exams. Connie is soon derailed from her further studies by a call from her New Age mother, now living across the country. She asks Connie to temporarily relocate for the summer to her late Grandmother’s estate in nearby Marblehead to prepare it for sale. As she attempts to clean up a house that seems frozen in time, Connie stumbles across a clue to a potential primary source that may help serendipitously help her with her PhD. thesis. Connie searches for a missing book written by Deliverance Dane, accused of witchcraft during the Salem Trials. The story proceeds along dual timelines as Connie follows her historian instincts, learning about how the accused women in the Trials and their families were subsequently affected by the tragic events over several generations. A budding romance and a potential connection to Connie’s own background bolsters the plot, and some fantastical elements begin to emerge as the mystery unwinds. Some of the main plot is fairly predictable, and a few of the characters are one-dimensional, but the historical details and the portrayal of the “witches’” experiences are fascinating. This book might appeal to those drawn to romantic historical novels as well as to those who are intrigued by the possibility of authentic magic. I enjoyed this book and appreciated Howe’s authentic portrayal as a result of her own background in historical research.

 

 

 

I got this book before Christmas, and I have been slowly filling it in (and I mean slowly).  So everything so often I will post what is a start (or something) of one of the lists.

 

1. Heroine The Twit from Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. - talk about your bad dog owners.

 

2. Anita Blake from the Anita Blake Series - I don't have a penis.

 

3. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights - dog killer

 

4. Peter Pan - Sew your own damn pockets!

 

5. The Twit from 50 Shades of Grey - I mean she falls asleep reading Thomas Hardy!

 

6. Hope Adams from the Otherworld Series - I love the series, but I hate Hope Adams.

 

 

The upside to buying a book on impulse that you later find out from your BL friends is at best an average read: your expectations are set accordingly.

 

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane was an impulse buy at a FOTL sale based on the oh-so-fabulous cover and an ultra-quick scan of the book flap.  A story about a modern day Harvard Ph.D. candidate finding out about her witchy roots while cleaning out her grandmother's house.  How could this be a bad story?

 

Well, it's not, but it's not a great story either.  It held my attention in a rather detached way and the author did a credible job pulling me into Salem during the late 1600's for the flashback chapters.  The cover quote refers to this book as a "gripping supernatural puzzler".  I'm not sure what Matthew Pearl was reading but I don't think it was this book.  It wasn't gripping at all, although as I said, it's not a bad story.  

 

Each chapter head has a time frame on it - "Late June, 1991" or "Early August, 1991" but I think my biggest complaint about the story overall is I never got any sense of time passing from the story - the writing is very, very vague in terms of events moving towards their inevitable conclusion.  The narrative really ended up feeling like just a listing of events; if not for the chapter headings I wouldn't have known if this story takes place over 4-5 months or 4-5 years.

 

I'm not sorry I read it and I never felt like throwing the book across the room, but really it's an average story encased in an extraordinary jacket.

And I was fooled!  The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is not a good novel.  Featuring a Mary Sue main character who is too dumb to live.  She doesn't know how to take care of dogs (I liked the dog, actually).  She took about 3/4 of a book longer to figure out both main twists than I, the reader.  And the capper: I don't know when I last saw a fictional historian who knew less about things historians consider basic research and "duh" facts.  (It was at this point that I was grinding my teeth as well as rolling my eyes.)

 

Nice cover - but don't be fooled!