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Hour of the Witch
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of The Flight Attendant: “Historical fiction at its best…. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying” (Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of the Outlander series, The Washington Post).
A young Puritan woman—faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul—plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive novel of historical suspense.
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life.
But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary—a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony—soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.
A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.
This discussion guide and recommended reading was shared and sponsored by Penguin Random House.
Book club questions for Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
The Puritans believed that they were always in the presence of God or the Devil—that they were never truly alone. How did the characters’ behavior reflect, or not reflect this belief? How would you behave differently if you felt there was always someone watching?
The Puritans used God and the Devil to explain the inexplicable events of everyday life. It is suggested that having this type of explanation is comforting. Do you agree?
Mary often wonders if she herself has been possessed by the Devil or if, instead, it is God influencing her actions. How does this inner dialogue change your view of Mary’s motives?
Were you surprised by the way the Puritans in the novel lived? How did their lifestyle differ, or not, from any ideas about Puritans you may have had before reading this book?
Discuss Henry Simmons’ actions throughout the novel from his first encounter with Mary, to the kiss in her parents’ dining room. Do you approve of his behavior? What about Mary’s?
As you were reading, who did you think buried the objects in the ground outside Mary’s door? Were you surprised by the answer?
Was justice served at the end of the book? Did the characters get what they deserved?
In what ways does Mary’s story resonate today? Has society progressed in its treatment of women, in its views on divorce and domestic violence?
Hour of the Witch Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Hour of the Witch discussion questions
One of the Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction of the Year • A Real Simple Best New Book • A Read It Forward Most Anticipated Book • A Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book • A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book • A GoodReads Most Anticipated Book • An AARP Most Anticipated Book
“Hour of the Witch is historical fiction at its best… Insightful and empathetic… Thick with details as chowder is with clams… Handled with great skill and delicacy. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying.”
—Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post
“Harrowing… In the hands of a master storyteller like Bohjalian, [Hour of the Witch is] an engrossing tale of a woman who insists upon the right to navigate her life, and the consequences when she does.”
—Danielle Trussoni, New York Times Book Review