The witch that is in all of us

books:


	• The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Illustrated American Classics) Elizabeth George Speare Houghton Mifflin, 2001 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 380 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent Historical Fiction

I am a retired teacher who used this novel as a supplement when my classroom was learning about the Puritans' migration to early America. The students loved the story and came away with a better understanding of the Puritan culture and problems they encountered in colonial America. I now introduced my granddaughter to this novel as she is learning about religious groups who came to America to escape persecution in Europe. She couldn't put the book down and was so excited about the novel that she encouraged her friends to read it. I truly believe that literature provides a better understanding of history when it develops characters that represent the life and struggles of the times.

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~.~I love this book~.~

I love this book to death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i've NEVER read a book beter than The Witch of Blackbird Pond! I discovered it in my school library & i used it for my book report!

-Hailey

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The witch that is in all of us

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is Elizabeth George Speare's (1908-1994) second novel. It won the Newbery Medal with full votes in 1959, one year after its publication. Similarly to her previous "Calico Captive", Elizabeth George Speare draws her inspiration for this historical novel for young adults from real events. In "Calico Captive" it was Susanna Johnson's captivity, while in "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" episodes of witch hunting, that had taken place in the Author's hometown of Wethersfiled, Connecticut in 1648 and 1650-51, are the basis for a breathtaking story .

It is 1687, year of fighting of the Connecticut colonies to preserve their Charter menaced by the English, when young Kit Tyler, after the death of her grandfather in Barbados, decides to go live with her only relatives in Wethersfiled Connecticut, one of the many settlements on the Connecticut River. At her arrival in her new home she finds a colony of Pilgrims of strict confession which reluctantly accept her as long as she "behaves" according to their unwavering rules. Her adoptive family is sincere, but mentally and emotionally closed, except maybe for her cousin Mercy, physically handicapped. Slowly Kit adapts to her new environment, but she cannot renounce her true character, her curiosity, her need of culture and spontaneous affection. She befriends a forlorn and neglected child, Prudence and an old and estranged Quaker woman, Hannah Tupper, two outcasts of society, and because of her sincere affection and care is accused of witchcraft. Through hardships and real dangers and the help of true friends she finally finds out who she is and what she wants.

Three intermingling love stories make the plot even more captivating and the book is hard to put down once started. All the characters are lifelike and perfectly described and unforgettable, from cousin Mercy (modelled on Elizabeth George Speare's real aunt who was physically disabled), to Nat Eaton, the nicest, most sarcastic and challenging young man encountered in young adult literature, to Prudence the unpromising child who turns out to be Kit's most successful pupil and ultimate saviour.

I learned many years after having read the novel in 1967 that this book is today used as a text in English classes in elementary and middle school. Surely it contains many elements to dwell upon and it is hard to forget that Elizabeth George Speare was a teacher particularly dedicated to the study of childhood in the early days of American history. The historical setting of the novel is absolutely perfect with real characters such as Sir Edmond Andros and the royalist Rev. Gersholm Bulkeley that play the role they had in history. The detailed historical research behind the book is also evident from many elements: the pointing out of religious differences, the anti-Quaker bigotry, the psychological explanation based on ignorance of the fear of witchcraft, the difficulty of living in a Pilgrim entourage for a person with sound Faith but educated according to different models.

Elizabeth George Speare's knowledge of adolescent problems is evident as well in the way she conveys the sense of feeling a stranger in a different world and in the attempt to fit in while maintaining independence. Another very New Englandish emotion one gets from the book is the beauty of the changing of seasons from the glory of autumn, to the first snow that can be understood only by people who have lived there.

After so many years, I ask myself how much influence can a writer have on children. Elizabeth George Speare had an enormous influence on me in particular, but I think she did on many through the development of an instinct of independence and especially of compassion and acceptance. I want to remember that in the acceptance speech for the Newbery Medal for "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" she said.. "I do not believe a historical novel should gloss over the pains and the ugliness. But I do believe that the hero .. should on the last page.. still be standing, with the strength to go to whatever the future may hold."

Another small notation, the Author makes a recall to the poetry of Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), the first woman poet of American literature, for a long time ignored and forgotten by many and only recently rediscovered in her actuality. Mrs. Speare's citation of her shows us not only her culture and knowledge of early American history but also stimulates the reading of these beautiful poems that immerge us into the atmosphere of "The Witch of Blackbird Pond".

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Excellent Book!!

I recommend this book to all who have children! THis book is an excellent addition to any library.

Set in a time that was full of suspicion and lies. If you wanted to get rid of someone that you didn't like, just accuse them of being a witch! This book is a great read. It keeps your attention and makes you think about the way we as a society judge others because they seem to be a bit stranger than us!

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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