
“Physick”
shifts seamlessly between two worlds: 1991 Massachusetts and 17th
century Salem where the witch trials have reached fever pitch. In the present, doctoral candidate Connie
Goodwin is preparing for her oral exams in Colonial and New England
History. Howe was also studying for her
oral exams when she first began her imaginings of “Physick” and the scene in
which Connie sits for her exams could only have been written by someone who has
gone through the ordeal. I even found
myself breaking a sweat as Connie answers painfully intricate questions about
New England history that only the most diligent scholar would know.
After
her exams, Connie is made caretaker of her grandmother’s old home in
Marblehead, Massachusetts. Again, Howe
drew from personal life, having moved to Marblehead with her husband in
2005. The home has been vacant for years
and has no electricity or telephone service.
As Connie fixes up the house, she comes across a hollowed out key which
holds a fragile piece of parchment with the name “Deliverance Dane” scrawled on
it. Like all good academics, Connie is
curious, and so begins her search for Deliverance Dane, a possible victim of
the Salem Witch trials that perhaps was not as innocent as the other men and
women who senselessly lost their lives.
In fact, Connie herself might possess powers that not even she is aware
of.
I
should note here that another interesting twist in Howe’s own story is that she
is related to Elizabeth Proctor and Elizabeth Howe who were both accused of
witchcraft. Elizabeth Proctor was
released from prison in 1693. Elizabeth
Howe was hanged along with four other women on July 19th, 1692.
Woven
in with Connie’s quest to discover the identity of Deliverance Dane is a power
struggle with her academic advisor, Manning Chilton, whose interest in Connie’s
research might be more for his own gain than hers, as well as a romantic entanglement
with a local steeplejack which gives some enjoyable lightness to the book. Howe also shifts back in time to examine the
lives of Deliverance Dane and her heirs who had to pick up the pieces in the
aftermath of the trials.
Howe’s
work is a prime example that academics can also be creative. She develops a complex plot with witty
dialogue, and pulls from personal experience to create an engaging story. I haven’t had the honor of meeting Howe, but I
have watched several interviews and follow her on Twitter, and she is
absolutely delightful. Being an
academic, she is able to give a good deal of historical context regarding the
choices she makes in her work.
If
you enjoy The Physick Book of Deliverance
Dane, you’ll want to check out Howe’s second novel, The House of Velvet and Glass. I
haven’t read it yet, but it’s been receiving excellent reviews and is set
shortly after the sinking of the Titanic.
Howe is also working on a third novel that I am eagerly awaiting.
For
more information about Katherine Howe and her books, you can visit her website:
katherinehowe.com, Facebook page: facebook.com/katherinebhowe, or
Twitter:@katherinebhowe