The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Week 2 of me being in India, I can’t tell you any funny stories as I wrote this before I went. So it’s like me speaking from the past, into the future. Weird.
Speaking of weird, last week I was walking along the road where I work [Edgware Road] and the pavement exploded. The pavement just exploded! Then it caught fire!! The hole caught fire!! I thought I was in an episode of Charmed.
What the hell? Hardly anyone reacted, I mean I am pretty unobservant about most stuff but I did observe the pavement blowing up [well actually I didn’t realize until the slab fell on the floor in front of me but hey].
A nice man did tell me not to panic. Apparently it was a backed up gas explosion in the pipes and not a bomb. He obviously mistook my cowering and sheer panic me worrying about bombs. Actually I was more concerned about my new tan trench coat getting ruined than the fear of London bombings but I played along anyway. I then faked my ‘what a relief it wasn’t a bomb’ rather than ‘thank the Lord non of that crap got on my coat’ face.
However later on -over ‘large glass red please’ I was telling people about my near death experience and everyone seemed as surprised as me that pavement can just explode in the street. Is this a normal occurrence? Either this is a great gas conspiracy or I have super powers – which is probably what I told people after ‘nine large glasses, red please’.
You know that if I lived in an American Teen TV Show I would suddenly find out that am descended from witches and that blowing up streets is just one of my many powers. That didn’t happen so I don’t have a story. If it did I could have written a book just like this…
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe is not just an average read about Salem Witches – infact the author Katherine Howe is descended from the original Salem accused, Elizabeth Proctor, who survived the witch trials, and Elizabeth Howe, who did not, which adds a layer of legitimacy to the book.
The story itself is based on Connie Goodwin a Harvard history graduate student who finds herself charged with spending a summer in Marblehead, Massachusetts, getting her grandmother’s old house ready for sale whilst attempting to come up with an original subject for her thesis. The house with its rambling ‘physick garden’ and the surrounding areas of New England are described beautifully and lyrically and anyone familiar with the area will find themselves transported to the wild and lovely New England coast on a heady summers day.
Connie finds the old, abandoned house is a mess, but soon finds herself adapting to it’s primitive charms, the fresh herbs in the garden, sturdy old pots and pans in the old kitchen, and a collection of ancient bottles filled with peculiar liquids and powders.
On her first night at the house Connie discovers a key tucked between the pages of a 300-year-old family Bible and inside the key a piece of paper, bearing the words ‘Deliverance Dane,’. While combing the local church registry for traces of this mysterious name, Connie strikes up an acquaintance with Sam, a steeplejack engaged in the church’s preservation. Together they piece together Deliverance’s tragic story and learn of her precious book of spells and recipes for healing potions.
With breathless suspense and sinister goings ons – we are guided between the past and present as Katherine Howe reveals the discoveries of Connie Goodwin and the secrets of Deliverance Dane, condemned as a witch in the Salem hysteria.
A cross between a Dan Brown thriller and the lyrical novel Practical Magic, this is an exciting yet comforting read for anyone with a penchant for magic. Lauren x
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is written by Katherine Howe and published by Penguin
Weekend Roundup
Book by its Cover
Autumn Vegetable Lasagne and Book Giveaway!
