A Mirror for Witches

Summary

A Mirror for Witches takes the listener on a historical journey through the injustices of the witch trials through the heartbreaking story of a young woman who battles her own demons, rooted in the traumatic loss of her parents, as she fights for her life.

A Mirror for Witches, published in 1928 by award-winning author Esther Forbes, is an enthralling tale of power, fear, trauma, and superstition set in New England in the 1660s. Caught up in the horrific witch hunts in Europe and the Americas, Doll Bilby, as a small child, witnesses her parents being burned for witchcraft in Brittany. She would have burned with them, were it not for Jared Bilby, an English captain, who takes her away as his adopted daughter. They make their way to the New World, where his wife, jealous of Doll and unable to have her own children, accuses her of witchcraft, and soon has other townspeople making accusations as well.

After yet another terrible loss and dealing with an unrelenting barrage of abuse, manipulation, and accusations from townspeople and her adoptive mother, Doll starts to believe the accusations laid at her feet and begins to look for connection and solace anywhere she can, even if that means witchcraft.

This gripping story examines the horrible power of how fear and hate of those different from us, particularly those on the margins of power and society, can lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Esther Forbes, best known for the Newbery Award–winning Johnny Tremain, weaves a beautiful tapestry of historical facts about the Salem witch trials with fictional characters as she examines the horror, paranoia, fear, and superstitions present in Puritan society. Grounded in historical realities, this novel takes listeners on an emotional journey.