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The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano.

"Margaret (Maggie) Jones pays the ultimate price for being an outspoken and intelligent woman back in Puritanical Boston. We already know what happens to her but learning the circumstances that led to her trial was entertaining overall." 

⭐⭐⭐

Pros: It was a quick read, and engaging throughout. 

Cons: The ending, with Maggie's constant repetitions of Thomas being her entire world, got a bit old/The big confession between Thomas & Maggie and Maggie's thoughts of accepting that he'd been unfaithful but then biting his head off when he admits it was sigh-worthy.   

Full Review

Thomas Jones is leaving the Massachusetts Bay Colony after his wife Margaret (Maggie) is hanged as a witch. When he boards the ship, it suddenly starts listing dangerously, and the Captain bows to the whims of the terrified passengers and throws him off. He later takes solace in the company of his neighbors/friends, the Strattons, who are just as distraught at the death of Maggie as Thomas. They give him some privacy, and he starts going through his belongings, knowing Maggie had told him to rid himself of any reminder of her. And, as often happens, he finds her diary. 

Thus, we learn the story of Maggie, how she and Thomas left London after Maggie was accused of selling poison to a noblewoman, who later killed her husband. They decided it was best that they start a new life in the small "Jerusalem on the Hill" colony of Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Maggie, who's always been free with her speech and opinions, sometimes finds herself at odds with the Puritanical views of her fellow residents.

Together, she and Thomas enjoy a prosperous life: he works as a Carpenter, and she works as an Apothecary/Midwife. It all comes to a head when the former Widow Hall, someone who's been lusting after Thomas, accuses Maggie of consorting with the Devil, and Maggie is promptly arrested for Witchcraft. 

The first part of the book was mainly building the life that Maggie/Thomas shared, while the second part of the book described Maggie's trial. Catalano wrote an honest account, and I truly felt for Maggie since all the cards were stacked against her from the start. She and Thomas truly loved each other, and the staggering hypocrisy of Puritan Boston makes me glad that I live in the 21st Century since I most likely would have been tried as a Witch as well. 

Ended here. 

The story goes back to the beginning. He and his wife came from England since she was accused of helping a crazy noblewoman kill her husband. 

They’ve started a new life in Charlestown. Tom is a carpenter and Maggie is a midwife and apothecary, selling herbal remedies and offering advice to her clients. She’s opinionated and outspoken which can be a cause of concern since those in MA are far more pious. 


They have a daughter, Elizabeth, after she’d miscarried multiple times. Don’t think the daughters going to live for very long. 

The daughter dies at only 7 months. That's after Thomas is drugged by the Widow and has sex with her on her dining room table, thinking it's Maggie. She's psychotic. 

Maggie doesn't handle Bess's death well. She talks to her, pretends she can still see her and everyone starts to think she's just a bit crazy, including Thomas. Eventually Maggie admits that she knows Bess is dead but she sees her sometimes. On the day that would have been Elizabeth's first birthday, a cat comes to Maggie and she decides to keep her and names her Molly. 

Later on, Mary, the indentured Irish servant of the Widow, who was well aware of what happened between the Widow and Thomas, comes to their house and shows a Poppet that she found in the Widow's clothes. It's obviously supposed to be Maggie, with pins stuck in her womb. Maggie says to Thomas that they should confront her but he dares not do it, since Maggie already has a bad reputation for speaking so freely amongst the Puritans of Boston. 

One day in the Market, the Widow catches Maggie's eye and falls in a swoon. Maggie goes to her aid, since she's an Apothecary and the Widow starts screaming that she's put a curse on her. The Widow's married by then, to the new Minister. And the Minister tells Maggie to back off. That night, though Thomas seriously contemplates running off with Maggie to another settlement, they don't and the next day, or at least in the next chapter, Maggie is given a warrant for her arrest. 

Well, we all knew that was how it was going to happen. 


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