A Mirror for Witches

by Esther Forbes

A novel written in the 1920s and set in the Salem witch-hunting days. A young girl is convinced by the spirit of the times that the accusation against her of witchcraft is true.

By the beloved author of Johnny Tremain

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Witches, Historical, Classics, Fantasy

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Esther Forbes was born in Westboro, Massachusetts in 1891, as the youngest of five children. Her family roots can be traced back to 1600s America; one of her great-uncles was the great historical figure and leader of the Sons of Liberty, Sam Adams. Her father was a probate judge in Worcester and her mother, a writer of New England reference books. Both her parents were historical enthusiasts.

Even as a little child, Forbes displayed an affinity for writing. Her academic work, however, was not spectacular, except for a few writing classes. After finishing high school, she took classes at the Worcester Art Museum and Boston University, and later, Bradford Academy, a junior college. She then followed her sister to the University of Wisconsin where Forbes wrote extensively for the Wisconsin Literary Magazine. After developing her writing skills, she returned to Massachusetts where she began working for Boston's Houghton Mifflin. As a reader of manuscripts, Forbes used this experience to advance her own writing career. Her first novel, O Genteel Lady! was published in 1926 to critical praise. With its selection by the newly formed Book-of-the-Month Club, the novel gained popular appeal as well. That year, Forbes also married Albert L. Hoskins, Jr., a Harvard Law School student.

As Forbes continued to write and gain notoriety, her marriage suffered because her husband disapproved of her career. They divorced in 1933. After several other novels, Forbes began her research of Paul Revere with her mother, who was then in her mid-eighties. When the historical biography, Paul Revere and the World He Lived In won the Pulitzer Prize in History, Forbes recognized her mother's immense contributions. During the process of researching Paul Revere, Forbes became fascinated with the large role young apprentices played in the war. Thus, she wrote Johnny Tremain, a historical novel of a young boy growing up in the time of the Revolutionary War. With poignant character development and a keen sense of history, it contained the elements for lasting popularity. It was published as "A Novel for Old and Young." In 1944, it won the Newberry Award, the top award for children's literature and became an instant children's classic. Forbes continued to turn out award winning books, most notably, The Running of the Tide, which was commissioned as a movie but never filmed. While working on a book about witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts, she died in 1967 of rheumatic heart disease.

Forbes literary achievements, awards, and recognition speak for themselves in regards her place in letters. Johnny Tremain is still read widely in schools and its popularity makes it one of the few lasting classics of American children literature.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fascinating story written in a style I haven't come across before. If you're a reader who likes reading about the Salem witch trials, you need to add this to your list pronto.

Forbes wrote this book back in the late 1920's, but the style and "voice" she used for the narrative is so authentic to the 17th century that it's almost like reading a 350 year old manuscript. It's written in 3rd person, almost like a moral/religious text primer, with elaborate and long-sentenced chapter titles and black and white woodcut prints throughout.

The story itself, concerning the life of an orphaned girl named Doll Bilby, is both pathetic and compelling at the same time. Doll's parents were both burned as witches/warlocks in Brittany and Doll witnesses their fiery deaths. An English merchant sea captain adopts Doll and takes her home to his wife, who despises Doll from day one and attributes all kinds of satanic powers to the child. The Puritan Bilby family soon leave England for the new world and settle into a small community near Salem, MA. As Doll grows into womanhood, her wild and un-Puritan-like ways set her against the rigid religious community. It doesn't help that she's also a beauty.

The narrative is written in such a way as to showcase the outrage against Doll's perceived witchcrafty-ness, while at the same time provoking in the reader the very opposite effect. The supernatural events related throughout the story can all have an alternative, logical, man-made source, but is deliberately vague as to whether Doll's alleged crimes are occult in nature, or just the product of the hyper-religious superstition, hysteria and hatred that was prevalent in the culture at that time.

Excellent, thought-provoking stuff.

[Tina Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why is The Crucible the story of choice in HS? This is SO much better! I love how the author gives thoughts and feelings from various characters so it is not just a one-sided glimpse into this part of history.

[Dick Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this novel more psychological than historical. Was Doll actually a witch, or was she led to believe it by jealous and superstitious people? Did she take a dæmon lover, or were unscrupulous men abusing her? This book is rich in horror and tragedy and interpretation. I recommend it highly. It gets better with each read.

[Jukka]

A Mirror for Witches (1928) - Esther Forbes
Dark, powerful and wonderfully wrought! You're probably familiar with the author for her book Johnny Tremain, but i did not know of this book written 15 years earlier for older readers. Highly recommended. There is much here to discuss when read in a book group.

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What follows aren't spoilers, but if you want to read this
book knowing nothing before you start, then go do that.
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This book uses a sort of unreliable narrator (sometimes a dislikable narrator) to great affect. If a story's context is the distorted beliefs and prejudice of a collective group, placing the narrator with the group and having the gap lie between the reader and narrator adds extra stress and drama to the story. This dissonance forces the reader to do the work to make moral sense of the story and increases the reader's bond with a main character isolated on the outside. The risk is having the reader swayed inordinately by the narrator and joining the distorted world of the group. This story never fails in this risk although at moments i found myself dramatically flickering along the edge. Adding to the sense of drama, is this book's realistic "period voice", which again adds work and reward to the reader.

[I'd love to hear a comment if you can think of a story that takes this sort of risk and fails.:]

About the illustrations in the book: The wood cuts by Robert Gibbings are a pleasing blend of influence from the novel's time and a sort of style contemporary to their creation in the 1920s.

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Very minor spoilers ahead.
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I really love that the reader's bond with the isolated includes the main character and the [non-human:] animals.

Quite a zing in that final sentence don't you think? Interesting that it seems to break the time setting through to today.

Quote from book:
... in that world of witchery which none today will ever see. For in those days there were sights and wonders that will not come again. In those days God was nearer to man than He is to-day, and where God is there also must be His Evil Opponent -- the Prince of Lies, for show me Paradise, and there around a corner, I will show you Hell.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found an original copy from 1928 in an Antiquarian book store. It's absolutely incredible how graphic it is for a book written in 1928. Esther was a well educated woman. I plan on seeking her other writings out.

[Allyson Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this on one sitting- I could not put it down. Nothing short of a work of genius- a lively, vivid and strange use of an unreliable "omniscient" narrator. Why is this book not more widely read?

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

How friggin sad

[Lady Georgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Date : 11th January 2026
Book : A Mirror For Witches
Author : Esther Forbes
Genre : Historical Fiction

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was written in 1928 and the style of writing in this book definitely felt ancient. (It might not be for everyone, but if you’re okay with it then read on). I needed my kindle for this one as I had to look up certain words. While reading this, it did feel like I was reading the book in “The Ninth Gate”. If you’ve watched that movie, you’ll probably understand what I’m babbling on here 😆

Okay so this story was set in the 17th Century and it’s about a teenage girl named Doll Bilby who lives in a small Puritan town where everyone is terrified of witches. Her parents were burnt alive and she was adopted by a poor but kind man and his salty wife. Doll has always felt different and was pretty much isolated from everyone else so when strange things started to happen, she was the first one to be pointed fingers at just because she’s different.

Yes, this book may be a setting from the past but what was painfully relatable about it was how much it felt like the reality we live in our modern days now. In the way people judge and bully you, even for someone who doesn’t fit society’s norm.

This book does sound a lot like Slewfoot but the real question in this book is if Doll (unlike Abitha from Slewfoot) is truly magical or if she’s just misunderstood? And you’ll see that as you read this, you’ll notice just how quickly being sad, being kind or even being silent can make people judge you badly.

How much power does fear and rumours have? No spells, just words. Is it enough to change someone’s whole life? This book was definitely unsettling and that’s what made it a great read. Reality check indeed✨

[Lara Lleverino · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Crucible meets The Scarlet Letter…a disgusting Tale of weak minds, ignorant manipulation, childhood trauma and abuse. I’m not sure what would be the benefit of reading such a book. The circumstances are too removed from today for someone under similar religious manipulation and coercion to see it just because they read this awful story.

[Jess A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1928, this dark, tense novel is written from the point of view of a Puritan from the 1600's laying out the case against the witch Doll Bilsby. A slow burn, the tension builds as the accusations mount from the pious, judgmental narrator. I'm surprised to only just learn of this novel, its unique point of view is surprisingly fresh and relevant.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic. Sad… I love a misunderstood witch.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like to revive books from an earlier century and get them to be read again. This is an interesting story, plainly told. I am not sure if this in written in a certain style popular at the time of its publishing, which is 1928. There is not a great deal of melancholy or dramatic flair; it’s more of a reporting of facts. I find that I like this style well enough, as it allows me to form my own views as to what I might or might not feel. The gist of the story is that a young girl, Doll Bilby, whose parents were burned at the stake is relocated to Massachusetts at the time of great soi disant Puritan piety. Doll looks different than the typical New Englander—she is small, petite, and dark, and more wild of nature. When her adoptive father dies, she is maltreated by her step mother and so-called Christian people. Thus she turns to satanism and witchcraft to look for solace. Although unemotionally told, this is a story of great tragedy and a cautionary tale of what can happen to a young person who is greatly misunderstood and maltreated. It is a morality tale about hypocrisy. I really enjoyed reading it without totally losing my heart to it.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was written in the 1920s, but it looks and feels much older -- like something written in the time of the Salem witch trials. The font and the black and white woodblock illustrations give it an antique appearance. It is the account of Doll, a young woman who, as a child, witnessed the burning of her parents in England. She came to America and lived with foster parents, but she was always different, and gradually she came to be known as a witch. She herself became convinced of it. The writing is strong and compelling and seemed eerily accurate, but it did get tiresome and repetitive. I would have liked it better if it had been half as long.

[JR Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why had I never heard of this book before? It was a terrific read. I loved the old feel of it. I’m also lucky, because I have a Sentry Edition of it. Not many of those exist anymore. I even tried searching for my edition on eBay and had no luck. This book was the perfect amount of creepy. There’s something about old-time books. This has me wanting to read more about the Salem Witch Trials. What a crazy time. A normal girl who became a witch by other’s reasoning. Super fascinating.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd like a copy of this but it is very difficult to find.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel serves as an exploration of the complexities surrounding witchcraft accusations in early America. The story centers on Doll Bilby, a young woman whose life becomes entangled with "dark forces" and societal paranoia. As the daughter of murdered "witches", Doll is adopted and taken from Brittany to America, where she is raised by her foster father and hated by her foster mother. She never is allowed to escape her past, and Doll's journey is tragic, highlighting how fear and superstition can lead to devastating consequences. What sets this novel apart is its depiction of the psychological and societal factors that fuel(ed) witch hunts. Forbes doesn't merely recount events; she provides the reader with the motivations and fears that drive characters to act as they do. This approach encourages readers to reflect on historical patterns of scapegoating and moral panic. While the book was originally published in 1928, its themes remain relevant, offering insights into contemporary issues of "othering" and mass hysteria.

I do wish more had been shared about the pirates, especially Bloody Shad, and Goody Goochey (because WHAT?!?). It's sometimes hard to read books written at this time because I feel like they often gloss over the more interesting aspects of their story and focus on something mundane. Yes, the story is about Doll and what becomes of her directly - but the story is also about the small community she lives in, the prejudices that follow her across the ocean, and ultimately her willingness to accept for truth the fiction applied to her. I started reading this book because I had it already downloaded, and at first I wasn't sure if it was a novel or one of the tracts published about trials, so the writing is very "in theme" for the time period (1600s) but also very easy to read from a modern perspective. It is a very short read, and I felt very sorry for Doll, who is the ultimate victim.

[Rebecca Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The heathen Greeks, whom the Reverend Pyam Plover has suggested were but devil worshippers, believed these two things to be identical; that is, what is good is beautiful, what is ugly is evil.”


“For in those days there were sights and wonders that will not come again. In those days God was nearer to man than He is to-day, and where God is there also must be His Evil Opponent — the Prince of Lies, for show me Paradise, and there, around a corner, I will show you Hell.

Finis coronat opus"-the end crowns the work

“It has long been known that, on occasions, devils in the shape of humanity or in their own shapes (that is, with horns, hoofs, and tails) may fancy mortal women. By dark arts, sly promises of power, flattery, etc., they may prevail even upon Christian women, always to the destruction of these women’s souls and often to that of their bodies.
For in Northumberland, Meslie Ry was burned in 1616 because she had taken a fiend to love.”

I thought this book was amazing in showing the injustices of witchcraft and the hypocrisy of people. I must say this book is very feminist showing how men will react when confronted by fear. Their prejudice towards women and their behaviour showed how devastating an impact could be made.

When listening to this book all I could think about was the hypocrisy laced through her writing as she spoke of seeing the devils worshiper with horns. It showed that by calling a woman a witch it was only to suppress them as they stood outside social norms by her refusing to marry. It highlighted ignorance of that time and made Doll an excellent heroine.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently came across a recommendation for A Mirror for Witches, a novella following a young girl known as ‘Bilsby’s Doll’ in a 1600s Massachusetts village. Doll was rescued by Bilsby as a child as her parents were burned as witches in Normandy He then raised her as his own daughter in a puritan village, until she too is suspected by her adopted mother and neighbors of bewitching a young neighbor boy in love with her. But, strikingly, no one suspects her own possible devilry quite as much as herself. As suspicion and isolation envelopes her, Doll welcomes a ‘fiend’ (or is it an escape pirate?) and gives herself over to him, setting off a final trial aimed at seeking the truth.

Written in a tight, wry voice, the reader is actually not sure what to make of this supposed ‘historical’ account of witchcraft predating the Salem Witch Trials. And that is certainly the point. Much like Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, Forbes does a deep dive into the social and psychological pressures of the community, but with the unique addition of the accused herself actually trying to be ‘guilty’, even though she may actually not be.

[Annie Whitlock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aside from personally really, really not enjoying this book, I also don’t think the storytelling worked well. There was one small section of the book that worked well in the last 3/4ths of the novel, and I think if the whole story had been told like that, it would have been better.

The format sets up the story as if you’re reading a historical document…but it doesn’t commit to that gimmick enough for it to be effective. Instead, the third person narrator is so distant that we don’t get dialogue (Doll,our main character, says about 5 lines in the whole book) but we somehow still get the “inner thoughts” of Doll…supposedly by what she has recounted to others. It doesn’t work. It distracts from what I think the intended purpose of the unreliable narrator was, making the story unclear, unsettling, and I don’t think the book accomplishes what it was supposed to be at all.

[Brandon Bourgeois · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d say this book is deserving of 4.5/5 stars, but also felt more comfortable rounding down than up. I think the story itself is very interesting. The structure of the narrative makes you question what you’re reading and whether or not you can take what is said as truth. A couple of times it felt like the story stalled a little bit and Doll wasn’t really given much to do. Overall still enjoyable.

[Carley Windorff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author was generations ahead of her time. Do yourself a favor and research her biography. Absolutely fascinating woman. Written in a style the mimics the authorities on Salem’s witch trials, it forces the reader to consider the mores of the time and to confront the problematic narrator. I can’t stop thinking about this book, and will likely re-read it again soon.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For 1928 this is pretty historically "accurate" is not quite the right word, but it had the right historical "feel." Maybe a little too tongue in cheek for a couple of characters, but Bilby Doll's entry into witchcraft feels authentic for the 17C.

[Louise Waugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the 1920s, this short, easy read effectively conjures the mood of 17th century New England while at the same time being contemporary now, 100 years after it was written. Even if you don't read historical novels I recommend this very highly.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark, atmospheric, psychological tale with a vividly crafted sense of time and place.

[Max B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[j a z z y · Rating 4 out of 5]

they don’t teach this in schools bc its too too sexy

like this is soooo much better than the crucible I can’t even explain it fr

there’s so much to chew on in this book I really loved it

[Sandra Lemire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this since I have this masochistic compulsion to finish EVERY book I start. But it was a chore . It was a tough slog, this book. Bleak af .

[Susan Collinsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language, the way she evokes the darkness and superstition of that time and place. High schoolers and college students should be reading this instead of The Crucible.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is interesting. It is a little hard to get past the archaic language, I often had to re-read a paragraph to understand the gist, but that also added to the authenticity of the story.

[E.N. McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb and curious novel, set in Salem, 1600s. Written in the style of a 17th century tract, the book tells the story of Doll Bilby, an orphan whose parents were both burned as witches. Is Doll a witch? Does she become the witch her accusers believe her to be? Or is everything explainable in modern terms so obvious to us now? The genius of this thought-provoking book is to provide a narrative in which each episode sustains multiple interpretations: psychological; demonic; sexual. Told via an unreliable omniscient (or is he?) 3rd person narrator, the book fully realizes a 17th c. mindset,and brings it to life. Dark, strange, and marvelous - this book is a gem.