Conceived on May Morning, Nell is claimed by the piskies and faeries as a merrybegot, one of their own. She is a wild child: herb gatherer and healer, spell-weaver and midwife…and, some say, a witch.
Grace is everything Nell is not. She is the Puritan minister’s daughter: beautiful and refined, innocent and sweet-natured…to those who think they know her. But she is hiding a secret – a secret that will bring everlasting shame to her family should it ever come to light.
A merrybegot and a minister’s daughter – two girls who could not have less in common. Yet their fates collide when Grace and her younger sister, Patience, are are suddenly spitting pins, struck with fits, and speaking in fevered tongues. The minister is convinced his daughters are the victims of witchcraft. And all signs point to Nell as the source of the trouble…
Set during the tumultuous era of the English Civil War, The Minister’s Daughter is a spellbinding page-turner – stunning historical fiction that captures the superstition, passion, madness, a magic of a vanished age.
Nell's quiet life with her granny, the village midwife, is tragically interrupted by accusations of witchcraft. As Nell is watched by the powers that be, she worries about the unborn baby in the minister's daughter's belly. This is a story filled with vivid descriptions, as well as nasty-tempered fairies and "peskies" acting as a Greek chorus in the hedgerows. Heather O'Neill provides a steady narrative pace while appropriately varying her accents for nearly every character. From supernatural beings--high-pitched, rough, and edgy--to royalty--smooth, educated, and authoritative--O'Neill's distinctions enhance the drama of the story. Her portrayal of the mad character is especially haunting. J.M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
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