The Heretic's Daughter

Kathleen Kent's first novel, THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER, was based on true family history. Kathleen has worked in commodity trading and for the US Department of Defence in Russia. She now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. THE TRAITOR'S WIFE is her second novel.

"The Heretic's Daughter is raw, honest and completely captivating. Kathleen Kent takes what would seem to be a familiar subject and gives it a fresh, new perspective -- moving us through a wrenching gamut of emotions as she does so. A searing look at one of the worst periods in our history."
"An illuminating literary debut."
History is more than facts and figures; it's something that happens to all of us. That's the thought that may strike readers of Kent's luminous first novel, set at the time of the Salem witch trials. In fact, Martha Carrier, Kent's grandmother back nine generations, was hanged as a witch in 1692. As portrayed here by her daughter, Sarah, Martha is a proud, stubborn, prickly woman, unbending in her beliefs and uninterested in public opinion. When Sarah returns to her family, having been sent away with a little sister because one of her brothers has the plague, she's not sure she wants to go back to her cold mother and dour, seven-foot father, who has some mysterious connection to Cromwell. But when malicious girls start pointing fingers, neighbor turns against neighbor, and Martha is told she will be arrested for witchcraft, she will not run, and she will not make a false confession. But Martha tells Sarah that when she is interrogated about her mother's activities, she must lie to save herself. Amidst the painful details of jail and persecution, deep-seated suspicion and familial betrayal, it is this powerful act of love that crowns the book. Highly recommended.
"[A] gripping and original first novel...fresh, bracing and unconventional."
"A powerful coming-of-age tale in which tragedy is trumped by an unsinkable faith in human nature."
"Kent's moving story comes straight from her heart as well as the historical record...Kent tells a heart-wrenching story of family love and sacrifice. Its warnings about the dire consequences of intolerance and fundamentalism still have meaning in the modern world."
"[Kent] successfully re-creates the smothering, suspicious atmosphere of Puritan life, where canonical word was law, and showcases the flagrant absurdity of the "trials...Kent also excels at showing both the horrors and petty injustices the imprisoned endured.... an eminently readable novel, and a tribute to a woman who held steadfastly to the courage of her convictions."
"Ms. Kent brings a gentle decency to her portrait of this nasty episode in American life."
"An authentically moving story that is as much about a mother and a daughter as the terror of the times."
"[A] sure-footed first novel that draws from Martha's tribulations to evoke the short-lived witch hysteria in the New England colonies.... The Heretic's Daughter is haunting; unlike in seventeenth-century Salem, there is real magic at work here."
"A family's conflict becomes a battle for life or death in this gripping and original first novel...Sarah's front row view of the trials and the mayhem that sweeps the close-knit community provides a fresh, bracing and unconventional take on a much covered episode."
"[a] close look at family and village life, at the hearth and the harshness out of which the accusations of witchcraft grew... The misery behind bars reflects Kent's rich imagination. She also shows the fruits of historical research in details that let you glimpse the past as it was lived, in the barn or field, at the inn or church. To this she adds descriptive gifts.... It goes on like that, wonderfully. I hope Kent does too."
"Gripping and evocative, HERETIC is a powerful tale of a perilous time."
"A riveting story....Kent's vivid picture of the jail conditions (no food, poor water, chains weighing 8 pounds) will haunt many readers."
"[A] well crafted tale of love and fidelity, deadly hysteria and superstition."
"In her haunting debut novel, Kent digs deeply into her personal history to re-create the harsh and brutal world of Puritan New England....The book is not just about societal tyranny, but also about the complicated mother-daughter bond."