Review: Condemn Me Not: Accused of Witchcraft

I plowed right through Heather Moore's Condemn Me Not: Accused of Witchcraft, her fictional re-telling of the story of her ancestor, Susannah North Martin's, trial and execution in Salem during the witch trials.

I love that the protagonist is her ancestor; it adds another level to the novel for me. She even includes a list of ancestors at the front of the book. I also liked that this was a quick read; I finished it in two days.

The romance element of it was sweet. I don't usually read romances, and likely would not have picked this up had I realized how heavy the romance element of it was. However, despite being a little cliched, there was something sweet and endearing about the romance in this story. I also didn't mind the swapping back and forth between past and "present" 1692, which is usually not my favorite narrative element. So, overall I am glad I picked it up even though now I realize it is not something I would ordinarily have read. It was an interesting look at the witch trials and captures the horror of them without being particularly dark, which is impressive.

However, it lacked some of what I look for in historical fiction. Most importantly, it really lacked a lot of historical detail. The scenes were lacking in detail, and it really didn't contain much detail about life or society at the time, which is something I look for and expect in historical fiction. I would have gladly read a book twice as long if it had been more immersive. In particular I really would have liked more detail about the charges against her and her trial. I understand that the focus was to be her life, but the fact that she was accused witch is central to the book and, other than focusing on her time in prison, was really glossed over in my opinion. Overall, I felt the lack of detail on the trial and the historical time period was a disservice to the story and a real missed opportunity.

Susannah North Martin's memorial.
Photo by Tim Bouwer on Flickr. 

I was also disappointed to see her reference list at the end. While a strong reference list certainly isn't a requirement in historical fiction and probably doesn't matter to most readers, the research behind a story based on real life does matter to me. She clearly did rely on archival research, but the rest of her sources lead a lot to be desired; most of her sources other than the archival materials are blogs and Wikipedia. I definitely would have preferred to see some higher-level sources. I do love that she used archival materials and family resources, though!

Overall I am not sorry that I read it, but it was not to the level of depth and immersion that I personally seek in my historical fiction. However, it was a quick weekend read and, despite the serious subject matter, was a sweet love story and a nice tribute to the author's ancestor. While it was lacking in detail, it did give the reader some idea of the horror of what happened and what the accused witches must have faced. I would give it a solid 3/5 stars.