Dorcas Good, The Diary of a Salem Witch [Paperback]

Rose Earhart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2000

Dorcas Good, the four year old daughter of Sarah Good, who was hanged as a witch in Salem, MA, is arrested and taken to prison, herself being accused of being a witch. Mistreated by her cruel father and others in Salem, she learns to endure physical, emotional and sexual abuses. Befriended by the pirate Jack Quelch, Dorcas is finally rescued from the dark dank prison, but not before suffering permanent emotiional damage.

The novel, written in diary form, allows the reader to experience the flavor of life in 1692 Salem, and finally tell the real stoiry of the savagery and terror of the Salem Witch Trials. It is probably the first recorded case of child abuse in this country.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Among those accused of witchcraft in Salem Village in 1692 was four-year-old Dorcas Good, whose mother, Sarah, was among the first women tried and hung as a witch. Earhart shapes her novel as a diary of remembrance written by the adult Dorcas, traumatized by abuse but surviving against impossible odds. Her alcoholic father appears as a consummate villain, refusing to support his family, denouncing his wife as a witch, and abusing Dorcas sexually and physically from the time she is a toddler. He eventually secures her release from jail, primarily to sell her sexual services to others. In fact, many men in Dorcas's world are sadistic, sex-obsessed women-haters. Only Jack Quelch, a pirate, makes futile attempts to rescue her. Since the story is told by a victim, no explanations are offered for the hysteria that gripped the community and sent many innocent people to their deaths. Earhart includes photos of Salem locations mentioned in the book as well as a bibliography. This chilling fictional account will send readers searching for additional information about the frenzy that gripped New England 300 years ago.DKathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Fiction shines a new light on the Salem witch trials, as seen through the eyes of an accused four-year-old child whose eight-month imprisonment drives her mad. That much is history, as is the hanging of Dorcas' mother, Sarah Good, as a witch. But in this fictional diary (supplemented by photographs of sites in Salem Village and a two-page bibliography), the emphasis is less on the five young female accusers, many described as living in servitude themselves, than on the rest of the town and particularly its men. Here William Good is a violent good-for-nothing who beats his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Dorcas, then sexually molests the child and sells her into prostitution. Jailers force themselves on Dorcas and other female prisoners, and even the best of men speak lightly of not minding having mothers-in-law accused of witchcraft. Only two fictitious men--a kind jailer who pledges his troth to Sarah and a dashing pirate who tries to save Dorm--redeem their gender. This story of a child who suffers unspeakable cruelty and deprivation, relieved only by her inner life, makes history live. Michele Leber
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Pendleton Books; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (April 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893221024
• ISBN-13: 978-1893221024
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,203,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Gratuitously salacious violation of history, October 5, 2006

By 

Kcpeyton (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dorcas Good, The Diary of a Salem Witch (Paperback)

I knew this was a fictionalization, but I assumed that it would be historically accurate. The true story of Dorcas Good and the other innocents accused of witchcraft, tortured, and executed is facinating and horrible enough. But was Dorcas actually raped by her father? Offered by him to the the entire village as a child prostitute? I don't know, but it seems really, really unlikely, and therefore awfully inappropriate to have portrayed Dorcas as a victim of child sexual abuse. I was disturbed by the extreme explicit nature and abundace of sexual perversion, but even more disturbed by the violation of history this represents. It's just not ok to take historical figures and make up stories with them. If I'm wrong, and if there is documentation that William Good was a pedophile, and if there were additional numerous pedophiles also raping Dorcas, could someone direct me to it?
The typos, as mentioned by other reviewers, are abundant, and the book suffers for it. The publisher absolutely must hire competent copyeditors and proofreaders. Pendleton should be embarrassed by the state of this product.
The writing itself can be absorbing sometimes, but the structure the author chose is a shame: the journal entries are not at all believable. For example, it is known that Dorcas Good was deeply disturbed and would not likely have had the psychological insights the journals imply.
I also did not like the portrayal of Dorcas and Sarah as being actual witches, having supernatural instincts, etc. The women and men accused of witchcraft were most probably sincere, practicing Christians, and to re-interpret them as being actual witches is yet another violation of history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for preteens, EVER, February 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dorcas Good, The Diary of a Salem Witch (Paperback)

Well, I would give the actual story a 5 on a scale from 1-10. But considering content... I am 14 years old, and I definitely wouldn't reccomend it to ANYONE under my age, and only a few my age and older.
The plot is okay, it is very moving at times, but with the very graphic sexual scenes and the deaths some might call "scary", it's not appropriate for anyone 13 and younger. Heck, it even grossed me out. Advice: if you can handle sexual descriptions several times, disgustingly graphic hangings, and prostitution, this book is for you. Otherwise, don't even pick it up. PLEASE save yourself from the therapy that I will probably have to go through now that I've finished it.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish, October 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dorcas Good, The Diary of a Salem Witch (Paperback)

Purely on a factual basis - the tale of Dorcas Good, a 4 year old driven to insanity by being incarcerated in a dungeon with no light, separated from her mother - would be a good starting point for a novel if kept within reasonable bounds. This book doesn't do that and shames both the author and the memory of a tragically sad little girl.