The First Witch of Boston: A Novel

A novel based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman found guilty of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts. In 1646, Thomas and Margaret Jones arrive in Massachusetts Bay Colony from England to start a new life. Margaret is a healer; Thomas is cautious by nature. Despite their different temperaments, they share a decades-long marriage. They expect their new beginning to bring only good fortune. However, the austere Puritan community proves unwelcoming. Margaret's bold and unguarded nature draws suspicion and scorn in a place where wrong words or actions invite distrust. She becomes viewed as a cunning woman rather than a caring healer. When personal tragedies, religious hysteria, and fear of the unknown turn the community against her, even the bond between Margaret and Thomas is threatened. Drawn from actual diary entries and court records, this novel tells the story of an unjustly accused woman while also exploring her marriage against the backdrop of political and social upheaval in England and New England.