The First Witch of Boston
It’s 1646, and Thomas Jones and his wife Maggie, having left London under something of a cloud, are trying to build a new life in Massachusetts. Thomas is a skilled carpenter and furniture-maker, and Maggie is a gifted herbalist and midwife. She’s also an outspoken character, however, and that doesn’t win her many friends in Puritan Charlestown. She has the uncanny knack of reading people’s characters and spotting signs of health issues – a pregnancy for example – before the person even knows of it themselves. People have their suspicions about Maggie Jones. When a young widow takes a liking to Thomas, and isn’t above a trick or two to snare a married man, serious trouble is just around the corner.
While the title and a prologue confirm Maggie’s fate long before we watch it all unfold, there are still many tensions and questions to be resolved. The bald facts of witch-hunts can seem unimaginable to a modern-day audience, but Catalano’s character and world-building ably bring to life an era fuelled by superstition, repression, and intolerance. Thomas and Maggie’s marriage is complex and believable. Moments of tenderness and great grief are sensitively handled. I can see this book appealing to the many fans of Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River and Chris Bohjalian’s Hour of the Witch, and eagerly look forward to reading whatever Catalano writes next.
