The Salem Witch trials, renowned for their barbarous and indiscriminate execution of wives and mothers and whole families falsely accused of witchcraft, are brought vividly to life in this thoughtful account by Kathleen Kent. Its authenticity stems from carefully crafted prose written from the perspective of an adult looking back to distinct and important memories of childhood, through recorded diary entries which mark poignant recollections of past, personal experiences.

The author has an intimate knowledge of the event, as a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier, a woman convicted and hanged for the crime of witchcraft during an early period of American history. Its lack of sensationalist dialogue and under-dramatisation of real events keeps the story grounded, and, thanks to a lessened emphasis on graphic execution detail, allows the reader to envisage an unbiased and honest perspective as it is recollected by Sarah Carrier, the daughter of the woman accused.

Sarah, with the air of confidentiality about her, makes us privy to her most inner thoughts and feelings, closely aligning us with the ordinary village folk of a poor rural community whose people survive with hard work and sheer determination to provide for their families. The striking clarity with which Sarah explains her story also provides a balanced and unromanticised version of the early American justice system and sheds light over its true situation amidst fear and unjustified mass superstitious panic under the pretence of religious ideology, which ultimately brought a society to its knees.

It is in the unique circumstances through which Sarah lives that help to explain how the inadequacy of daily sustenance can often bring out the best and the worst in human nature. This, added to the insecurities of war, resulting in social fragmentation and distrust shows how the normally sane among us can end up rationalising the most implausible and questionable actions.

But Sarah’s story is about more than one family’s unique history. It is also about the incredible courage shown by so many individuals who refused to be condemned by a corrupted political system, choosing instead to stand in defiance over an unrecognised innocence. Martha Carrier is depicted as the heroine of her day, whose death - along with a husband’s determination to bring an end to religious and political tyranny - brought a turning of the tide in public perception.