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Book Review: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

This novel, set in New England in the early 90s features the young protagonist, Connie Goodwin, a graduate student at Harvard preparing her dissertation thesis in American Colonial studies and her quest in uncovering the identity of a young woman named Deliverance Dane. When Connie's eccentric mother, Grace, requests that she clean out her grandmother's abandoned home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Connie uncovers a century-old bible, within its pages lies an antique key. Things get more intriguing when a small rolled-up piece of paper in which the name, Deliverance Dane is written in old script, emerges from a small crevice inside of the keys ironwork. What follows is Connie's mysterious investigation in finding out who this woman was, and how her identity is embedded within Connie's own ancestry. This novel unveils a central theme featuring the mysterious Salem witch trials of 1692. Not knowing a whole lot about early American history, this was a major perk in reading the novel. The intriguing events and debatable assumptions of the witch panic also tie in with the author, Katherine Howe, whom of which is a descendant of 2 woman that were tied up in the trials, and eventually condemmed to death (one survived).
The imagery in this novel is a thing unto itself- extremely vivid, and having traveled to Boston in the past, Howe epitomizes its beauty in rich descriptions and lovingly adorned images. However, I was somewhat disappointing in how the novel ended. Reading the book jacket to this novel (I felt) built up the book to a higher standpoint than it was actually worth in reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and it kept me intrigued up until the last page. Katherine Howe's extensive research and knowledge in early colonial American history is clearly evident, and the numerous flashbacks into the depths of Salem ca. 1960 brought within me, the vivid realization of the horrendous consequences and irrational fears of the superstitious townspeople. I absolutely adore historical fiction, and can't wait to share more great reads of this amazing genre!

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