⭐️4/5 stars
📖 Length: 326 pages
📱 Format: Kindle
⏳ Read Time: 18 days
Synopsis
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1646. Thomas and Margaret Jones arrive from England to build a life in the New World. Though of differing temperaments, cautious Thomas and fiery Margaret, a healer, are bound by a love that has lasted decades. With a child on the way, their new beginning promises only blessings.
But in this austere Puritan community, comely faces hide malicious intent. Wrong moves or words are met with suspicion, and Margaret’s bold and unguarded nature draws scorn. Soon, Margaret is mistrusted as more cunning woman than kind caregiver. And when personal tragedies, religious hysteria, and wariness of the unknown turn most against her, even the devotion Margaret and her husband share is at risk.
Inspired by actual diary entries and court records, The First Witch of Boston is at once the riveting story of a woman unjustly accused and a love story set amid the political and social turmoil of both Old and New England. Harrowing, and with a deep understanding of the human heart, history is brilliantly imagined.
What I thought
I’ve always been drawn to historical fiction, especially when it’s done right. When it brings the past to life in a way that feels relevant rather than removed. The First Witch of Boston does exactly that. Drawing on first-hand accounts, including John Winthrop’s diaries and Massachusetts Bay court records, the novel tells the story of Thomas and Margaret Jones. Margaret would become the first woman tried and executed for witchcraft in Boston in June 1648, her fate shaped by fear, suspicion, and a society determined to enforce conformity. This title was part of Amazon Prime First Reads for August 2025 and so I nabbed this on Kindle for free. It was also nominated for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction, with almost 32 thousand votes.
The story is largely told through Thomas’s perspective, which adds an extra layer of emotional weight. From the very beginning, there’s a quiet sense of inevitability. Knowing how this ends casts a shadow over even the gentler moments, making the build-up feel tense in a subdued but effective way.
Margaret is portrayed as intelligent, outspoken, and unwilling to make herself smaller to fit the expectations placed upon her. As a healer, she is curious, capable, and confident. Normal qualities that should be admired, but instead mark her as dangerous in a rigid Puritan community. Thomas, by contrast, is cautious and deeply devoted, constantly trying to protect his wife while navigating a society that grows increasingly hostile. Their relationship is the emotional heart of the novel, written with a tenderness that makes the eventual tragedy all the more devastating.
What struck me most was how unsettlingly familiar the accusations felt. The way fear spreads, whispers grow louder, and difference becomes something threatening is painfully recognisable, even centuries later. For me, this wasn’t a sensationalised retelling of witch trials; instead, it focused more on how quickly a community can turn on one of its own when fear takes hold, and how easily a woman’s independence can be reframed as something dangerous.
This is not a fast-paced read, and it doesn’t try to be. The opening chapters take their time establishing Margaret and Thomas’s life before everything begins to unravel. Because we already know the outcome, some moments do feel a little repetitive, particularly as the same fears and suspicions resurface in different forms. That sense of inevitability, however, also feeds into the tension, creating a steady undercurrent of dread and sorrow that runs through the latter half of the book.
At its core, The First Witch of Boston is a story about injustice, love, and the devastating consequences of being different in a society that demands conformity. The historical detail adds depth without overwhelming the narrative, and it’s clear throughout that Margaret Jones’ story is treated with respect and care.
Overall
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a thoughtful and quietly powerful historical novel, not sweeping or cinematic, but emotionally resonant and lingering, particularly if you’re drawn to stories about forgotten women and the cost of speaking your truth.
Interested in picking this up? You can get copies below.
On Amazon – here
Bookshop.Org – here
Until next time… 🖤
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