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The First Witch of Boston
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2025)2025 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction
A gripping and intimate novel based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman to be found guilty of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts.
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.
A gripping and intimate novel based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman to be found guilty of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts.
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.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2025
About the author
Andrea Catalano
2 books375 followersAndrea Catalano is a historical novelist who holds a master of philosophy in historical studies degree from University of Cambridge, UK. Originally from the Boston area, she currently lives in Texas with her husband, children, two fluffy cats, and many, many books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,788 reviews
August 15, 2025
EDIT: Geez Louise, folks, never in all my years reviewing, not even when I had thousands of followers on Tumblr, did anyone care this much what I had to say about a book. Apparently I've offended people by not wanting to read detailed sex scenes lol. What a thing to come after someone about.
For those who are obviously confused, I've put a few definitions down.
"Explicit" (as pertaining to sexual content): describing or representing sexual activity in a graphic fashion.
"Graphic": giving a vivid picture with explicit detail.
If a movie would be rated R for sexual content, I'm not going to watch that movie. If that makes me a "puritan" for some of you, then so be it.
Books are movies that we create in our minds based on words written. If the words on a page are there to create images in my mind that are "describing or representing sexual activity in a graphic fashion," then I don't want to read it. And - shocking! - I will in fact describe that as explicit content. Because it is.
Just because I could "watch" something that is NC-17 or worse doesn't mean I have to partake in what's rated R. Just because YOU choose to read things that are "more explicit" doesn't mean that this book is not. Nobody is coming after you for YOUR reading preferences. I stated very clearly that this review is for those who have the same feelings and values that I do when it comes to the types of books they want to read. It is in fact OK to accept that not everyone is like you, and you won't be able to shame me into being embarrassed of the types of books I choose not to read.
And if I have to "skim over" or "fast forward" 75% of a book, as some of you would suggest, then why do you think I would give it a high rating? I didn't like the book. I had specific reasons for not liking it. Since the author was not willing to give any indication of what genre of book this actually is, then I will point it out - again, for the benefit of others who have followed my reviews in the past and present BECAUSE of the recommendations I give based on content like this.
I won't stop doing that. So you can quite literally not care about what I have to say if I'm too prude-ish for you. It doesn't bother me, and I won't revise my standards to make strangers on the internet happy. You should try it sometime.
* * * * *
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
In general, I have not been writing book reviews actively for about 10 years. Life changed and got busy, as it tends to do, and I didn't have the capacity to prioritize sitting down and typing up my thoughts about the books I read anymore. I also started to question whether anyone would even want to hear my thoughts anymore - there are SO MANY reviewers out there. What makes me any different?
This book, though. This book reminded me of why I began reviewing books in the first place.
As a teenager, I turned to book reviewing because I was so tired of getting burned by books. And I don't mean just not enjoying a book I thought I would like, but rather unexpectedly being exposed to to the type of content I would not have chosen to read if I had known ahead of time. I started reviewing because I knew there were others like me - parents or other teen readers - who were also tired of feeling tricked into reading explicit content. With my perspective, I wanted to make it easier for readers to make informed decisions for themselves about what they wanted to read or skip.
You thought this sounded like a historic fiction novel about the first woman convicted of witchcraft in Boston? Sorry, but you've been tricked.
I lost count of the number of explicit sex scenes throughout this book. I get it - the husband and wife are SUPER into each other. I personally don't want to read multiple explicit sex scenes between the two of them getting it on in various ways. I also personally don't want to read three separate explicit rape scenes. Yes, you read that correctly - THREE explicit rape scenes. (I suppose you could argue that the last one may not count because the rapist fails to "perform," but the intent is certainly there.)
There's absolutely nothing in the description of the book that would give you even a hint of the content that will be in the book. People sometimes assume that because it's not a young adult or middle grade book that it's just a free for all when it comes to sexual encounters. But my preferences for content have not changed since my teen reviewing days. I still don't want to read book porn. And readers shouldn't be shuffled into it just because they dared to pick up a book written "for adults."
Anyway, I'm obviously still a bit worked up and feeling frustrated. I really wanted to enjoy this novel, and I thought the premise was extremely interesting. Even if it weren't for the sex scenes, though, the whole execution fell flat for me. The first half of the book is written in third person POV with a focus mainly on Thomas, Maggie's husband. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Maggie's journal, which Thomas finds after her execution. However, the moment Maggie is arrested for witchcraft, the whole tone of the novel shifts drastically. Suddenly, it changes to first person - Maggie's first person. And the entire second half is only Maggie's trial.
It felt like two novels, two ideas, fighting against each other. Courtroom drama fighting against historical erotica. It wasn't cohesive. Following Maggie's execution, it turns back to third person from Thomas's perspective. I feel this issue could have been easily solved by leaving the second part of the novel in third person, just switching over to Maggie's perspective. I didn't feel what was so pressing about Maggie's narrative that warranted interrupting the whole flow of the novel.
Again, I wanted to like this book a lot. I don't enjoy sharing negative feelings about a book, especially when it's up and coming and I know there is a lot of emotion for a writer that goes into debuting a new release. However, when it comes to sneaking large swaths of explicit content into the narrative and giving your potential reader no indication of what it will contain - especially when it comes to sexual assault scenes - my allegiance lies with the reader.
If it's your cup of tea, that's great for you and I hope you really enjoy this book. However, if you're like me (and I know many followers of my reviews are), then save yourself some trouble and skip this one.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book for free via Amazon Prime First Reads.
For those who are obviously confused, I've put a few definitions down.
"Explicit" (as pertaining to sexual content): describing or representing sexual activity in a graphic fashion.
"Graphic": giving a vivid picture with explicit detail.
If a movie would be rated R for sexual content, I'm not going to watch that movie. If that makes me a "puritan" for some of you, then so be it.
Books are movies that we create in our minds based on words written. If the words on a page are there to create images in my mind that are "describing or representing sexual activity in a graphic fashion," then I don't want to read it. And - shocking! - I will in fact describe that as explicit content. Because it is.
Just because I could "watch" something that is NC-17 or worse doesn't mean I have to partake in what's rated R. Just because YOU choose to read things that are "more explicit" doesn't mean that this book is not. Nobody is coming after you for YOUR reading preferences. I stated very clearly that this review is for those who have the same feelings and values that I do when it comes to the types of books they want to read. It is in fact OK to accept that not everyone is like you, and you won't be able to shame me into being embarrassed of the types of books I choose not to read.
And if I have to "skim over" or "fast forward" 75% of a book, as some of you would suggest, then why do you think I would give it a high rating? I didn't like the book. I had specific reasons for not liking it. Since the author was not willing to give any indication of what genre of book this actually is, then I will point it out - again, for the benefit of others who have followed my reviews in the past and present BECAUSE of the recommendations I give based on content like this.
I won't stop doing that. So you can quite literally not care about what I have to say if I'm too prude-ish for you. It doesn't bother me, and I won't revise my standards to make strangers on the internet happy. You should try it sometime.
* * * * *
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
In general, I have not been writing book reviews actively for about 10 years. Life changed and got busy, as it tends to do, and I didn't have the capacity to prioritize sitting down and typing up my thoughts about the books I read anymore. I also started to question whether anyone would even want to hear my thoughts anymore - there are SO MANY reviewers out there. What makes me any different?
This book, though. This book reminded me of why I began reviewing books in the first place.
As a teenager, I turned to book reviewing because I was so tired of getting burned by books. And I don't mean just not enjoying a book I thought I would like, but rather unexpectedly being exposed to to the type of content I would not have chosen to read if I had known ahead of time. I started reviewing because I knew there were others like me - parents or other teen readers - who were also tired of feeling tricked into reading explicit content. With my perspective, I wanted to make it easier for readers to make informed decisions for themselves about what they wanted to read or skip.
You thought this sounded like a historic fiction novel about the first woman convicted of witchcraft in Boston? Sorry, but you've been tricked.
I lost count of the number of explicit sex scenes throughout this book. I get it - the husband and wife are SUPER into each other. I personally don't want to read multiple explicit sex scenes between the two of them getting it on in various ways. I also personally don't want to read three separate explicit rape scenes. Yes, you read that correctly - THREE explicit rape scenes. (I suppose you could argue that the last one may not count because the rapist fails to "perform," but the intent is certainly there.)
There's absolutely nothing in the description of the book that would give you even a hint of the content that will be in the book. People sometimes assume that because it's not a young adult or middle grade book that it's just a free for all when it comes to sexual encounters. But my preferences for content have not changed since my teen reviewing days. I still don't want to read book porn. And readers shouldn't be shuffled into it just because they dared to pick up a book written "for adults."
Anyway, I'm obviously still a bit worked up and feeling frustrated. I really wanted to enjoy this novel, and I thought the premise was extremely interesting. Even if it weren't for the sex scenes, though, the whole execution fell flat for me. The first half of the book is written in third person POV with a focus mainly on Thomas, Maggie's husband. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Maggie's journal, which Thomas finds after her execution. However, the moment Maggie is arrested for witchcraft, the whole tone of the novel shifts drastically. Suddenly, it changes to first person - Maggie's first person. And the entire second half is only Maggie's trial.
It felt like two novels, two ideas, fighting against each other. Courtroom drama fighting against historical erotica. It wasn't cohesive. Following Maggie's execution, it turns back to third person from Thomas's perspective. I feel this issue could have been easily solved by leaving the second part of the novel in third person, just switching over to Maggie's perspective. I didn't feel what was so pressing about Maggie's narrative that warranted interrupting the whole flow of the novel.
Again, I wanted to like this book a lot. I don't enjoy sharing negative feelings about a book, especially when it's up and coming and I know there is a lot of emotion for a writer that goes into debuting a new release. However, when it comes to sneaking large swaths of explicit content into the narrative and giving your potential reader no indication of what it will contain - especially when it comes to sexual assault scenes - my allegiance lies with the reader.
If it's your cup of tea, that's great for you and I hope you really enjoy this book. However, if you're like me (and I know many followers of my reviews are), then save yourself some trouble and skip this one.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book for free via Amazon Prime First Reads.
October 14, 2025
This claims to be based on a true story and begins in 1646 with Thomas Jones trying to make his way to Barbados via ship. Thomas is the husband of Margaret Jones, a woman hanged as a witch (we are told the conclusion of the book right in the prologue… I kid not). He has held on to a memento of his wife – her wedding gown. Whilst sat reminiscing over the dress, he finds a journal written by Margaret hidden inside. Some of these entries are scattered throughout the story.
We then go back to where Thomas and Margaret (Maggie) have recently moved to Boston after fleeing London and are also expecting their first child. Maggie is a midwife and herbalist that likes to make tinctures and ointments for people's ailments; she also has a sixth sense in this regard. This eventually leads to suspicion.
The blurb lured me in under false pretences. I was expecting a serious literary historical fiction book. If you're going into this like I was under that preconceived notion, be warned that's not what you're going to get. What I got was more of a subpar romance novel with a few sex scenes thrown in and a shallow plot of Margaret being accused of witchcraft. Also, be aware that it includes scenes of infant death and rape.
Considering the time period in which this is supposed to be set, it is completely unbelievable that certain things would have happened the way they were presented. The narrative also came across as way too contemporary for the era. We get the odd olde-type word scattered here and there, which made for an odd, disjointed reading experience.
This was a strange book; I'm not sure what was trying to be achieved here. After looking up the real Margaret Jones, it has little in the way of historical accuracy; it wasn't a compelling account of a real woman facing a harrowing ordeal, and Maggie and Thomas were both written as pretty unlikeable and annoying characters. Add to this the narrative didn't know what time period it wanted to be in; it all ended up being a bit of a mess.
The fact that this was supposed to be based on a real person really vexed me; it didn't sit well that their name was attached to this. It felt incredibly disrespectful, especially when you take into account that the rape scenes depicted therein were also a fictional addition.
We then go back to where Thomas and Margaret (Maggie) have recently moved to Boston after fleeing London and are also expecting their first child. Maggie is a midwife and herbalist that likes to make tinctures and ointments for people's ailments; she also has a sixth sense in this regard. This eventually leads to suspicion.
The blurb lured me in under false pretences. I was expecting a serious literary historical fiction book. If you're going into this like I was under that preconceived notion, be warned that's not what you're going to get. What I got was more of a subpar romance novel with a few sex scenes thrown in and a shallow plot of Margaret being accused of witchcraft. Also, be aware that it includes scenes of infant death and rape.
Considering the time period in which this is supposed to be set, it is completely unbelievable that certain things would have happened the way they were presented. The narrative also came across as way too contemporary for the era. We get the odd olde-type word scattered here and there, which made for an odd, disjointed reading experience.
This was a strange book; I'm not sure what was trying to be achieved here. After looking up the real Margaret Jones, it has little in the way of historical accuracy; it wasn't a compelling account of a real woman facing a harrowing ordeal, and Maggie and Thomas were both written as pretty unlikeable and annoying characters. Add to this the narrative didn't know what time period it wanted to be in; it all ended up being a bit of a mess.
The fact that this was supposed to be based on a real person really vexed me; it didn't sit well that their name was attached to this. It felt incredibly disrespectful, especially when you take into account that the rape scenes depicted therein were also a fictional addition.
June 22, 2025
Gorgeously written and deeply researched, THE FIRST WITCH OF BOSTON is a compelling, intimate portrait of a marriage—and of an independent woman dangerously ahead of her time. The tragedy Catalano unfolds in this exceptional debut novel will break your heart, and remains all too relevant in a world where The Handmaid’s Tale has become uncomfortably predictive. Highly recommended.
August 24, 2025
Awful. Badly written, badly researched and just badly done
Don’t bother. Honestly, don’t bother. You will wish you had the time back. I’m just glad I didn’t pay for it.
The POV changes, the sex is more than gratuitous, the language is sporadically sprinkled with a few “olde worldy” type words (thee, sup etc) but the secret diary, written by a woman who would likely have been barely literate, is the Queen’s English. I think it was supposed to be a feminist extravaganza But Maggie just seemed stubborn or stupid and very literally a woman out of her time. There were strong minded and strong women at the time but none that would risk talking to their elders in this way without knowing it was dangerous.
I am all for giving women their voices but changing them into these blazing warriors is disrespectful to the real woman. She was a victim and was almost certainly terrified by her circumstances, even if she did maintain her innocence. I did not feel as though we heard her real voice.
Mostly, I felt irritated by this book and irritated by the author for taking the first woman murdered under this ridiculous movement in the New World and not only making out that she was, in fact, a witch, but not allowing us to feel her fear, her resentment, her anger and her pain. She deserves better.
Don’t bother. Honestly, don’t bother. You will wish you had the time back. I’m just glad I didn’t pay for it.
The POV changes, the sex is more than gratuitous, the language is sporadically sprinkled with a few “olde worldy” type words (thee, sup etc) but the secret diary, written by a woman who would likely have been barely literate, is the Queen’s English. I think it was supposed to be a feminist extravaganza But Maggie just seemed stubborn or stupid and very literally a woman out of her time. There were strong minded and strong women at the time but none that would risk talking to their elders in this way without knowing it was dangerous.
I am all for giving women their voices but changing them into these blazing warriors is disrespectful to the real woman. She was a victim and was almost certainly terrified by her circumstances, even if she did maintain her innocence. I did not feel as though we heard her real voice.
Mostly, I felt irritated by this book and irritated by the author for taking the first woman murdered under this ridiculous movement in the New World and not only making out that she was, in fact, a witch, but not allowing us to feel her fear, her resentment, her anger and her pain. She deserves better.
September 9, 2025
Woe to you if you are an outspoken woman.
Your fate is definitely sealed.
Andrea Catalano's novel will not be for everyone. Know this going in. She is explicit in detail within marital love and human infatuation. There are even scenes of contrary situations of rape. But Catalano evokes the human conditions of life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1646 with its flow of Puritanical judgment and condemnation. The First Witch of Boston wraps us in this atmosphere and, believe me, it is quite telling.
The first scene opens with Thomas Jones trying to board a ship to Barbados in 1648. His goal is to escape the happenings in Charlestown, Massachusetts and the fate of his beloved wife, Maggie. Andrea Catalano immerges us into his pain and deep sorrow. The writing draws us deeply into his remorse. Oh, how we need to know the why and the how of all this.
And in order to retrieve that information, we are taken back to 1646 as Thomas and Maggie have arrived here in the New World from England. They are escaping a past that has forced them to make a new start.
Maggie is a healer, a midwife, and an herbalist. Once established in Charlestown, Maggie is called upon to use her skills in birthing babies and applying herbs to heal. She is remarkably talented. But her outspoken nature continues to rackle the steadfast demeanor of this Puritan community. As in all things, ignorance and closed mindedness work in favor of the foolish. Some things never change.
Suspicion visits upon Maggie until it eventually becomes befouled much like the wounds she tends to heal. But there is no chance of healing these radically minded people. Maggie will be imprisoned for witchcraft.
Andrea Catalano is a remarkably talented writer. She has done finite research into this time period in America through court documents, diary enteries, and the writings left by those who witnessed these court proceedings. The character of Maggie is based on a true woman of the times who stood her ground when accused of witchcraft. We are all aware of these misdeeds lashed out at females and the consequences of these actions. Innocent procedures and conversations can be twisted and formed against the accused. Hyper fanatical mindsets ruled the day and the innocent suffered with their loss of life.
The First Witch of Boston is geared to those who wish to experience history.....even those dark and daunting crevices. Andrea Catalano should be highlighted as an author to check out in the future. She has earned this mention readily because of her talent and her outstanding diligence.
Your fate is definitely sealed.
Andrea Catalano's novel will not be for everyone. Know this going in. She is explicit in detail within marital love and human infatuation. There are even scenes of contrary situations of rape. But Catalano evokes the human conditions of life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1646 with its flow of Puritanical judgment and condemnation. The First Witch of Boston wraps us in this atmosphere and, believe me, it is quite telling.
The first scene opens with Thomas Jones trying to board a ship to Barbados in 1648. His goal is to escape the happenings in Charlestown, Massachusetts and the fate of his beloved wife, Maggie. Andrea Catalano immerges us into his pain and deep sorrow. The writing draws us deeply into his remorse. Oh, how we need to know the why and the how of all this.
And in order to retrieve that information, we are taken back to 1646 as Thomas and Maggie have arrived here in the New World from England. They are escaping a past that has forced them to make a new start.
Maggie is a healer, a midwife, and an herbalist. Once established in Charlestown, Maggie is called upon to use her skills in birthing babies and applying herbs to heal. She is remarkably talented. But her outspoken nature continues to rackle the steadfast demeanor of this Puritan community. As in all things, ignorance and closed mindedness work in favor of the foolish. Some things never change.
Suspicion visits upon Maggie until it eventually becomes befouled much like the wounds she tends to heal. But there is no chance of healing these radically minded people. Maggie will be imprisoned for witchcraft.
Andrea Catalano is a remarkably talented writer. She has done finite research into this time period in America through court documents, diary enteries, and the writings left by those who witnessed these court proceedings. The character of Maggie is based on a true woman of the times who stood her ground when accused of witchcraft. We are all aware of these misdeeds lashed out at females and the consequences of these actions. Innocent procedures and conversations can be twisted and formed against the accused. Hyper fanatical mindsets ruled the day and the innocent suffered with their loss of life.
The First Witch of Boston is geared to those who wish to experience history.....even those dark and daunting crevices. Andrea Catalano should be highlighted as an author to check out in the future. She has earned this mention readily because of her talent and her outstanding diligence.
September 12, 2025
4.0☆
The story of Maggie Jones, the first woman to be executed for witchcraft in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, begins from the point of view of her husband, Thomas Jones. This was a most unique way of telling the story.
Too often the story of women being on trial for witchcraft is told from the perspective of the woman and the husbands are nothing more than a side note. To read how Thomas dealt with the suspicions and accusations thrown about, regarding the woman he loved dearly, was refreshing. I found this approach to telling the story to be what kept me turning the pages.
While the main point of the novel is the history of a strong, intelligent, outspoken woman being killed for being strong, intelligent and outspoken it is also a novel about the depth of love. Catalono weaves a love story that describes how two people can come so completely together. Additionally, the love of parents for a child and the love between friends are beautifully done.
Students of early American history are aware of the hypocrisy that was part of the Puritans in New England, but Catalano puts it into the forefront. Not all Puritans were so pure!
With very little information in the historical record of Maggie and Thomas Jones, Catalano had to fill in the blanks. True, she altered where Maggie was born and how she was raised, but this made the story have more depth. I do not begrudge the fictional license Catalano took.
The story of Maggie Jones, the first woman to be executed for witchcraft in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, begins from the point of view of her husband, Thomas Jones. This was a most unique way of telling the story.
Too often the story of women being on trial for witchcraft is told from the perspective of the woman and the husbands are nothing more than a side note. To read how Thomas dealt with the suspicions and accusations thrown about, regarding the woman he loved dearly, was refreshing. I found this approach to telling the story to be what kept me turning the pages.
While the main point of the novel is the history of a strong, intelligent, outspoken woman being killed for being strong, intelligent and outspoken it is also a novel about the depth of love. Catalono weaves a love story that describes how two people can come so completely together. Additionally, the love of parents for a child and the love between friends are beautifully done.
Students of early American history are aware of the hypocrisy that was part of the Puritans in New England, but Catalano puts it into the forefront. Not all Puritans were so pure!
With very little information in the historical record of Maggie and Thomas Jones, Catalano had to fill in the blanks. True, she altered where Maggie was born and how she was raised, but this made the story have more depth. I do not begrudge the fictional license Catalano took.
August 27, 2025
First; Margaret Jones was a real woman who was hanged by then neck for witchcraft. Her husband Thomas Jones was a real man who lived. Most of the people depicted in this book were real living breathing people who lived, but there are fictional characters in the book and those fictional characters...really did nothing toward the narrative of the real living breathing people who were friends and accusers of Margaret Jones and Thomas Jones. There will be spoilers but given what was written I do not care.
Second; In the Author's Note it was stated that this was an attempt to "honor her spirit and the spirit of all the women like her who are nothing more than a maligned blip in the historical record, or worse yet, forgotten and lost to history altogether". Yet in doing that Margaret Jones was raped, by 2 fictional men when she JUST recently bled for the first time & attempted by a 3rd right before she was going to be executed; yet there are no records of this happening, Thomas Jones was roofied by a fictional character & raped yet there is no records of this happening either. How is this honoring anyone?
There were graphic sex scenes. Many of them between her husband, her rapists & attempted rapist, & his rapist.
Third; There were moments where the writing was too modern for the time period; Can't, I've, I'm, It's...etc. Good Morning should have been Good Morrow...little things like that.
Fourth; The time shifting to suit a narrative...It was stated at the end of the book that liberties were taken for when certain people were living in places at certain times. If they didn't live there, how could they have been of assistance during a particular time? "The Puritans of New England eventually followed the lead of those in old England, and in 1659 the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony made it a criminal offense to publicly celebrate the holiday and declared that “whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way” was subject to a 5-shilling fine.” -history.com"
Fifth; Historical Fiction at least to me; is where we take the past and add a little to it. A bit, hint like Literary Journalism in a sense, or Creative Non-Fiction. It adds to the history but it doesn't completely demolish it either. Get a feel for who the people were, can immerse yourself in the past and understand how things felt and how things were and how they were.
With this book, I didn't get any of that. I got someone who was HEAVILY implied to be working in witchcraft, especially when she mentioned things coming back at you times three which is a wiccan thing. There were herbalists, apothecaries, and midwives and they did NOT do those things. I'm not mad, I'm disappointed. I wanted so badly to like this book. There are also no records to indicate Thomas was Irish and I'm sorry but it also felt like Google Translate might have been used...
Sixth; With everything it is simply frustrating, and I feel this way with True Crime as well when a REAL LIVING PERSON who had been wrongfully murdered is portrayed in a specific way. What if she did have descendants that were not written about and they read this? She was raped, not once but twice? WHAT? And her husband was too?
Finally ; I'm going to state this book is from Amazon First Reads and it is like the last book I read an ARC! So if it is not a September Amazon First Read it will be a past one. (Made an edit so the finally would be about the Amazon First reads and the first thing would be the review)
Second; In the Author's Note it was stated that this was an attempt to "honor her spirit and the spirit of all the women like her who are nothing more than a maligned blip in the historical record, or worse yet, forgotten and lost to history altogether". Yet in doing that Margaret Jones was raped, by 2 fictional men when she JUST recently bled for the first time & attempted by a 3rd right before she was going to be executed; yet there are no records of this happening, Thomas Jones was roofied by a fictional character & raped yet there is no records of this happening either. How is this honoring anyone?
There were graphic sex scenes. Many of them between her husband, her rapists & attempted rapist, & his rapist.
Third; There were moments where the writing was too modern for the time period; Can't, I've, I'm, It's...etc. Good Morning should have been Good Morrow...little things like that.
Fourth; The time shifting to suit a narrative...It was stated at the end of the book that liberties were taken for when certain people were living in places at certain times. If they didn't live there, how could they have been of assistance during a particular time? "The Puritans of New England eventually followed the lead of those in old England, and in 1659 the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony made it a criminal offense to publicly celebrate the holiday and declared that “whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way” was subject to a 5-shilling fine.” -history.com"
Fifth; Historical Fiction at least to me; is where we take the past and add a little to it. A bit, hint like Literary Journalism in a sense, or Creative Non-Fiction. It adds to the history but it doesn't completely demolish it either. Get a feel for who the people were, can immerse yourself in the past and understand how things felt and how things were and how they were.
With this book, I didn't get any of that. I got someone who was HEAVILY implied to be working in witchcraft, especially when she mentioned things coming back at you times three which is a wiccan thing. There were herbalists, apothecaries, and midwives and they did NOT do those things. I'm not mad, I'm disappointed. I wanted so badly to like this book. There are also no records to indicate Thomas was Irish and I'm sorry but it also felt like Google Translate might have been used...
Sixth; With everything it is simply frustrating, and I feel this way with True Crime as well when a REAL LIVING PERSON who had been wrongfully murdered is portrayed in a specific way. What if she did have descendants that were not written about and they read this? She was raped, not once but twice? WHAT? And her husband was too?
Finally ; I'm going to state this book is from Amazon First Reads and it is like the last book I read an ARC! So if it is not a September Amazon First Read it will be a past one. (Made an edit so the finally would be about the Amazon First reads and the first thing would be the review)
August 13, 2025
Contrary to what anyone else thinks, there is not a lot of gratuitous sex or talk in this book. There is much love and dedication to which most readers will appreciate. The story is basically true with some liberties in characters and locations. It is a wonderful read, emotional, heart wrenching and heart warming all in one. Sit back and enjoy this book, you won't be able to put it down.
August 4, 2025
Stunning, Terrifying, Maddening
The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano is a stunning novel built around the true life character, Maggie Jones, who was a healer and midwife in England and The Massachusetts Bay Colony. Puritanical Massachusetts was suspicious of any woman who did not know her station in life. She was always supposed to remain subservient to men, men of power and station, and her husband.
Thankfully, she married well to a kind, goodhearted man, Thomas, who adored the very things in her that led to her being accused of witchery and hanged as the first witch in Boston.
The book follows the intense romance between Maggie and Thomas as one of its more powerful aspects.
Massachusetts is strict in their religion, raining down punishments such as being placed in the stocks as well as thrown into jail. By far, the punishments and denouncements are handed down to women.
Maggie refuses to squeeze into a rigid mold. She is wild and free, speaks her mind, and heals intuitively, which leads to her demise.
Most of us know the story of the 17th century in New England. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, the true story of young girls stricken with the belief that women in their settlement were witches.
Ms. Catalano delves into the life of the Colony in that century, bringing insight into the food they ate, the ale and hard liquor they drank, the musings of their best friends about the stringent laws, rules and regulations, and obeying of God who is an angry crushing force, especially to women.
The characters are vivid and true, historical details accurate, and the story she builds around the facts she's found is mesmerizing. I began the book yesterday morning and read until 3:00 this morning.
My biggest takeaway is the continuing abuse of women from the beginning of time with Eve through to today and what Conservative Republican men are choosing to impose on women.
I heartily recommend this book.
The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano is a stunning novel built around the true life character, Maggie Jones, who was a healer and midwife in England and The Massachusetts Bay Colony. Puritanical Massachusetts was suspicious of any woman who did not know her station in life. She was always supposed to remain subservient to men, men of power and station, and her husband.
Thankfully, she married well to a kind, goodhearted man, Thomas, who adored the very things in her that led to her being accused of witchery and hanged as the first witch in Boston.
The book follows the intense romance between Maggie and Thomas as one of its more powerful aspects.
Massachusetts is strict in their religion, raining down punishments such as being placed in the stocks as well as thrown into jail. By far, the punishments and denouncements are handed down to women.
Maggie refuses to squeeze into a rigid mold. She is wild and free, speaks her mind, and heals intuitively, which leads to her demise.
Most of us know the story of the 17th century in New England. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, the true story of young girls stricken with the belief that women in their settlement were witches.
Ms. Catalano delves into the life of the Colony in that century, bringing insight into the food they ate, the ale and hard liquor they drank, the musings of their best friends about the stringent laws, rules and regulations, and obeying of God who is an angry crushing force, especially to women.
The characters are vivid and true, historical details accurate, and the story she builds around the facts she's found is mesmerizing. I began the book yesterday morning and read until 3:00 this morning.
My biggest takeaway is the continuing abuse of women from the beginning of time with Eve through to today and what Conservative Republican men are choosing to impose on women.
I heartily recommend this book.
August 7, 2025
Historical Sex
While this novel does have some historical fiction aspects, the almost constant sex scenes do not move the story forward and get in the way of the plot. DNF
While this novel does have some historical fiction aspects, the almost constant sex scenes do not move the story forward and get in the way of the plot. DNF
Read
January 21, 2026DNF @ page 50 (≖_≖ ). No rating.
Based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman to be found guilty of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts and inspired by actual diary entries and court records.
Posthumously told from POV of her loving husband, Thomas.
Ooph, this coulda/shoulda/woulda been a 5-star story in the hands of another, more skilled, writer such as Ariel Lawhon author of The Frozen River or Sarah Penner author of The Lost Apothecary.
I was expecting better after reading that the book was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2025) and a She Reads Best of Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2025), as well as the 4-star opening Prologue.
(¬_¬") Instead what was delivered was a trifling tale cluttered with trite dialogue, driveling danger, and Harlequinesque lusty spectacles.
The writing style is simple, one dimentional, and lackluster.
An unfortunate white-elephant of a
historical fiction (｡•́︿•̀｡).
Moving on now 💛🧚♀️🙋🏼!
Based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman to be found guilty of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Massachusetts and inspired by actual diary entries and court records.
Posthumously told from POV of her loving husband, Thomas.
Ooph, this coulda/shoulda/woulda been a 5-star story in the hands of another, more skilled, writer such as Ariel Lawhon author of The Frozen River or Sarah Penner author of The Lost Apothecary.
I was expecting better after reading that the book was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2025) and a She Reads Best of Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2025), as well as the 4-star opening Prologue.
(¬_¬") Instead what was delivered was a trifling tale cluttered with trite dialogue, driveling danger, and Harlequinesque lusty spectacles.
The writing style is simple, one dimentional, and lackluster.
An unfortunate white-elephant of a
historical fiction (｡•́︿•̀｡).
Moving on now 💛🧚♀️🙋🏼!
August 3, 2025
Set in 1647 Boston, this is a good romantic/historical novel about a passionate, outspoken woman who challenges the controlling Puritan patriarchy and, in return, is charged with witchcraft. At times, it seemed to border on the melodramatic. Nevertheless, that heightened sense of drama often seemed appropriate to the time and subject matter being depicted. While there's a tragic ending, readers who do reach the end will find a welcome surprise.
Margaret and Thomas Jones have recently arrived from London. He’s a carpenter, much in demand as a furniture maker. She’s a talented midwife and apothecary. He’s strong, loving, steady, and reliable. She’s passionate, independent, very intuitive, quick-witted, and hot-tempered. She says what she thinks without regard for who might take offense or the consequences. Although they worship at a Puritan Church, neither are religious zealots. As the story unfolds, despite Thomas’s warnings and appeals, Maddy says and does too many ill-advised things in front of too many of the wrong people, resulting in their umbrage and jealousy, and her arrest, imprisonment, and trial.
Author Andrea Catalano has given us a novel that dwells more on the romantic than the historic. She has created two multi-layered, very engaging characters in Thomas and “Maggie,” and a rich relationship between them, including the secrets they keep from each other. Readers seeking romance and eroticism, not to mention information about 17th century medicine and the work of midwives and apothecaries, or about how one particular witch trial was conducted, should find much to enjoy.
However, readers hoping for an in-depth depiction of the sights, sounds, and smells of 1647 Boston, or the city’s layout, lore, development, or governance, may be somewhat disappointed. Catalano relies more on her characters’ dialogue, vocabulary, and speech patterns, than descriptions of day-to-day life in Boston, to impart to readers a sense of time and place.
Nevertheless, there’s a good story here for readers who enjoy the period or stories like Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” or Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlett Letter.”
Margaret and Thomas Jones have recently arrived from London. He’s a carpenter, much in demand as a furniture maker. She’s a talented midwife and apothecary. He’s strong, loving, steady, and reliable. She’s passionate, independent, very intuitive, quick-witted, and hot-tempered. She says what she thinks without regard for who might take offense or the consequences. Although they worship at a Puritan Church, neither are religious zealots. As the story unfolds, despite Thomas’s warnings and appeals, Maddy says and does too many ill-advised things in front of too many of the wrong people, resulting in their umbrage and jealousy, and her arrest, imprisonment, and trial.
Author Andrea Catalano has given us a novel that dwells more on the romantic than the historic. She has created two multi-layered, very engaging characters in Thomas and “Maggie,” and a rich relationship between them, including the secrets they keep from each other. Readers seeking romance and eroticism, not to mention information about 17th century medicine and the work of midwives and apothecaries, or about how one particular witch trial was conducted, should find much to enjoy.
However, readers hoping for an in-depth depiction of the sights, sounds, and smells of 1647 Boston, or the city’s layout, lore, development, or governance, may be somewhat disappointed. Catalano relies more on her characters’ dialogue, vocabulary, and speech patterns, than descriptions of day-to-day life in Boston, to impart to readers a sense of time and place.
Nevertheless, there’s a good story here for readers who enjoy the period or stories like Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” or Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlett Letter.”
August 12, 2025
Can y’all stop spitting
August 30, 2025
two stars is being generous. What was the point of this book? The storyline and plot seemed disjointed and sometimes made no sense. Goodreads rating of 4.3 stars; Did we read the same book?
January 24, 2026
Good old fashioned Puritan hysteria
October 24, 2026
A thought provoking story about Margaret Jones, living in the 1600s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with her beloved husband Thomas.
Margaret, a real person, was a healer a woman with great perception, but also a woman who would often express her thoughts, a thing that was frowned upon in the Puritan society in which she lived. It definitely was a time when women were seen and certainly not heard.
Margaret ruffles many people including people who want nothing more than accusing someone of being a witch. Even though as a healer she helped many a woman and man, she is arrested and tried in a court made up of men. The outcome was predetermined and Margaret was soon condemned to hang. Her husband and friends stood behind her innocence although it did her little good.
Margaret was executed and has the dubious honor of being the first woman executed as a witch. Her boldness and outspoken ways condemned her but she never lost sight of her value and her love for her husband.
A fine story that blends the real with some fiction.
Margaret, a real person, was a healer a woman with great perception, but also a woman who would often express her thoughts, a thing that was frowned upon in the Puritan society in which she lived. It definitely was a time when women were seen and certainly not heard.
Margaret ruffles many people including people who want nothing more than accusing someone of being a witch. Even though as a healer she helped many a woman and man, she is arrested and tried in a court made up of men. The outcome was predetermined and Margaret was soon condemned to hang. Her husband and friends stood behind her innocence although it did her little good.
Margaret was executed and has the dubious honor of being the first woman executed as a witch. Her boldness and outspoken ways condemned her but she never lost sight of her value and her love for her husband.
A fine story that blends the real with some fiction.
September 11, 2025
Not what I was expecting at all - If you’re looking for a smutty historical fiction book with some mention of witches, this is your book! I really wanted more of the witch trial but that doesn’t get touched on until about 50%, before then every chapter is just a sex scene. I didn’t like the male narration as it was hard to follow at times. I would have liked more from the wife also.
August 21, 2026
This one was hard and dark. I find all of the 15th century witch trials very hard to metabolize. Healers and midwives and women talented with herbal arts all targeted, but also women who were bold and vocal and who other women didn't like. Women who spoke their minds and for whom had desireable husbands. To be honest it wasn't a pleasant read, even if the writing was quite good.
I worried about Maggie beyond being unfairly and injustly targeted for her skill in healing as well as her personality. But I have to say - I was worried about her personality and how she operated separate from the time she was in and the danger of her outspokenness at the time. I try not to read books "as a psychologist" but every now and then, it jumps out at me in a way I cannot escape. Just as with Elinor Oliphant, and my having the unfortunate take of having to tease out autism versus PTSD, I couldn't help myself here. Because I felt we were in the presence of a clear personality disorder. Which did not help the cause of Margaret Jones.
Since Margaret Jones was a real person, we have no way of diagnosing a personality disorder from the past, but the way this character is written, she could not manage herself in virtually any situation. From the professional to the personal. She had plenty of prior life experiences and plenty of loss and dynamical difficulty from the time period of her life described in the story, and her personality disorder makes sense in light of this. It felt sad to me. Her marriage was a mess, and she could take no accountability for her feelings or actions, just anger and entitlement, worth dying over, and losing her life over. Although she was clear that it was already lost - and she had no choice but to use her authentic voice she had been using her entire life. That's what made the whole thing to me sad and dark beyond the obvious immediate motif and setting of the unjust witch trials. She just couldn't help herself. And openly communing with a lost ghost child could not have helped her either - in the trial or in life. Maggie Jones was entirely alone, and entirely out of her time.
One interesting feature of the book was the fact that many people used herbal remedies, and were either too afraid, or personality disordered themselves, to speak to it. There is a governor who readily and quietly made use of his gardens for healing, and our villainess of the book, a seductress skanky tramp who was the cause of the trouble in the first place, who actually did use herbs as the dark arts. Which of course is dark and troubling. Ultimately there was a love story here, and more than one in an odd way - given the ending, but one destroyed by the fear of black magic and misused inappropriate sexuality. It was a good read, although a dark one. Has stayed with me. Thank God the audio I am listening to is totally insipid. It really is the perfect balance for a dark book like this one.
I worried about Maggie beyond being unfairly and injustly targeted for her skill in healing as well as her personality. But I have to say - I was worried about her personality and how she operated separate from the time she was in and the danger of her outspokenness at the time. I try not to read books "as a psychologist" but every now and then, it jumps out at me in a way I cannot escape. Just as with Elinor Oliphant, and my having the unfortunate take of having to tease out autism versus PTSD, I couldn't help myself here. Because I felt we were in the presence of a clear personality disorder. Which did not help the cause of Margaret Jones.
Since Margaret Jones was a real person, we have no way of diagnosing a personality disorder from the past, but the way this character is written, she could not manage herself in virtually any situation. From the professional to the personal. She had plenty of prior life experiences and plenty of loss and dynamical difficulty from the time period of her life described in the story, and her personality disorder makes sense in light of this. It felt sad to me. Her marriage was a mess, and she could take no accountability for her feelings or actions, just anger and entitlement, worth dying over, and losing her life over. Although she was clear that it was already lost - and she had no choice but to use her authentic voice she had been using her entire life. That's what made the whole thing to me sad and dark beyond the obvious immediate motif and setting of the unjust witch trials. She just couldn't help herself. And openly communing with a lost ghost child could not have helped her either - in the trial or in life. Maggie Jones was entirely alone, and entirely out of her time.
One interesting feature of the book was the fact that many people used herbal remedies, and were either too afraid, or personality disordered themselves, to speak to it. There is a governor who readily and quietly made use of his gardens for healing, and our villainess of the book, a seductress skanky tramp who was the cause of the trouble in the first place, who actually did use herbs as the dark arts. Which of course is dark and troubling. Ultimately there was a love story here, and more than one in an odd way - given the ending, but one destroyed by the fear of black magic and misused inappropriate sexuality. It was a good read, although a dark one. Has stayed with me. Thank God the audio I am listening to is totally insipid. It really is the perfect balance for a dark book like this one.
October 20, 2025
“This place at the edge of the world was about to execute a woman for the sin of being a woman.”
True. That is the heart of every witch hunt, and it should have been the heart of this book. But somehow it isn’t.
Historical fiction is still fiction, of course, but it really grinds my gears when an author takes a real human being who lived and breathed on this earth and does them SOOO DIRTY posthumously. That’s what happened here.
Some reviewers were annoyed that Catalano gives away the ending in the prologue, disclosing that the protagonist will be hanged in 1640s Massachusetts after a false conviction of witchcraft. This complaint seems absurd. It’s historical fiction. We all know how it ends.
Others were bothered by the amount of sex and found it unrealistic for the time period. That also seems absurd to me. The story centers on a woman who lives unabashedly and refuses to quell her fire to the end (Catalano even made her an Aries, and the shoe fits).
With that said, the whole rest of this story made me viscerally annoyed.
Maggie and Tom are given the most insufferable personalities. Maggie repeatedly threatens her customers and calls them “stupid cow.” She calls at least half a dozen characters cows, straight to their faces, fully aware it embarrasses her husband and draws attention at a time when midwives are under scrutiny. She does it during her own trial. It is irritating and inconceivable. Annoying.
I looked into her backstory to see if that behavior was rooted in fact. Spoiler: it isn’t. Almost nothing is known about Margaret Jones, and nearly everything in this book is invention. Catalano took a real woman described historically as “strong willed” and “confident”turned her into someone out of control and flat-out mean. Those are not the same thing. Annoying.
Then comes the stupid little widow. A jealous woman who wants Tom, hexes Maggie with black magick, and later becomes one of her accusers and drives the trial. WHY?!? Who told Andrea Catalano this was a good idea? ANNOYING.
1. What woman writing on this topic would pivot from midwifery and healing to literal black magick? Introducing spellwork opens the door to the idea that there was genuine evil in play, as if the witch hunts were understandable reactions instead of misogynistic purges of autonomous women. One of the few known facts about the real trial is that witnesses claimed “an imp” visited Maggie in jail. Rather than portraying that as a treacherous lie, Catalano validates it and writes an explanation!! An imp does appear, as the ghost of her dead child (also made up)! Does this not support what should have been painted as persecutors’ delusion? Who does that?
2. These murders of women were the acts of small, frightened men. So why make the women the villains? The widow and several other women become the architects of Maggie’s downfall, while the only consistent kindness comes from men. I am not a man-hater (though this review may read otherwise), but this choice was baffling.
Margaret Jones was a real person, hanged by the state. Using her name and then inserting supernatural plot devices like a cursed poppet and a ghost child reduces her life and death to an aesthetic. It is easier to forgive when the protagonist is fictional, but not when the woman’s death is a matter of record.
The true horror of the 1640s (and later, Salem) was that there was no witchcraft at all…only a fear of women who healed, spoke up, or refused to conform. By inserting actual hexes and curses that work, the novel implies the Puritans were responding to something real. That reframes patriarchy as tragic misunderstanding instead of deliberate violence.
Annoying. So, SO annoying. End rant.
True. That is the heart of every witch hunt, and it should have been the heart of this book. But somehow it isn’t.
Historical fiction is still fiction, of course, but it really grinds my gears when an author takes a real human being who lived and breathed on this earth and does them SOOO DIRTY posthumously. That’s what happened here.
Some reviewers were annoyed that Catalano gives away the ending in the prologue, disclosing that the protagonist will be hanged in 1640s Massachusetts after a false conviction of witchcraft. This complaint seems absurd. It’s historical fiction. We all know how it ends.
Others were bothered by the amount of sex and found it unrealistic for the time period. That also seems absurd to me. The story centers on a woman who lives unabashedly and refuses to quell her fire to the end (Catalano even made her an Aries, and the shoe fits).
With that said, the whole rest of this story made me viscerally annoyed.
Maggie and Tom are given the most insufferable personalities. Maggie repeatedly threatens her customers and calls them “stupid cow.” She calls at least half a dozen characters cows, straight to their faces, fully aware it embarrasses her husband and draws attention at a time when midwives are under scrutiny. She does it during her own trial. It is irritating and inconceivable. Annoying.
I looked into her backstory to see if that behavior was rooted in fact. Spoiler: it isn’t. Almost nothing is known about Margaret Jones, and nearly everything in this book is invention. Catalano took a real woman described historically as “strong willed” and “confident”turned her into someone out of control and flat-out mean. Those are not the same thing. Annoying.
Then comes the stupid little widow. A jealous woman who wants Tom, hexes Maggie with black magick, and later becomes one of her accusers and drives the trial. WHY?!? Who told Andrea Catalano this was a good idea? ANNOYING.
1. What woman writing on this topic would pivot from midwifery and healing to literal black magick? Introducing spellwork opens the door to the idea that there was genuine evil in play, as if the witch hunts were understandable reactions instead of misogynistic purges of autonomous women. One of the few known facts about the real trial is that witnesses claimed “an imp” visited Maggie in jail. Rather than portraying that as a treacherous lie, Catalano validates it and writes an explanation!! An imp does appear, as the ghost of her dead child (also made up)! Does this not support what should have been painted as persecutors’ delusion? Who does that?
2. These murders of women were the acts of small, frightened men. So why make the women the villains? The widow and several other women become the architects of Maggie’s downfall, while the only consistent kindness comes from men. I am not a man-hater (though this review may read otherwise), but this choice was baffling.
Margaret Jones was a real person, hanged by the state. Using her name and then inserting supernatural plot devices like a cursed poppet and a ghost child reduces her life and death to an aesthetic. It is easier to forgive when the protagonist is fictional, but not when the woman’s death is a matter of record.
The true horror of the 1640s (and later, Salem) was that there was no witchcraft at all…only a fear of women who healed, spoke up, or refused to conform. By inserting actual hexes and curses that work, the novel implies the Puritans were responding to something real. That reframes patriarchy as tragic misunderstanding instead of deliberate violence.
Annoying. So, SO annoying. End rant.
October 17, 2025
As seen on www.mysteryandsuspensemagazine.com
1646, Massachusetts Bay: Thomas and Margaret Jones are new arrivals to Boston, having left their life in London behind, hoping to start over. Thomas is a cabinet maker and Margaret, “Maggie”, is a healer and midwife and, although, they are at first accepted into their community, it doesn’t take long before the strict, Puritan townspeople take offense to Maggie’s brash, uninhibited and unconventional ways. To the townspeople, Maggie’s ability to treat people and understand their needs looks more like witchcraft than caring and healing, and she is accused of being a “cunning woman” who is friendly with the Devil, and put on trial for being a witch.
Andrea Catalano’s based-on-true-events novel, “The First Witch of Boston” is a sharp and clever depiction of the real Margaret Jones, who was the first person to be hanged as a witch in Massachusetts. The story is narrated by both Thomas, first, and then Maggie, and readers get to witness the passionate love between the couple, and how the accusations do little to affect these feelings. Maggie (as depicted in the book anyway) is a firecracker, refusing to change who she is for anyone, and there is no doubt that readers will cheer for her, regardless of the inevitable outcome.
“Boston” is well-researched, and Catalano puts a creative spin on the story without reducing Margaret’s tragic tale. Right from the start, readers are pulled into the Jones’ simple life, as they deal with the heartbreak of infertility and child loss. Faith and religious hypocrisy are also huge themes in “Boston”, with community members turning to Maggie for help one day, and turning against her the next, in order to protect their reputation in the Puritanical town.
This is the kind of story where the outcome is already known, as witch trials only ever had one ending. That knowledge, however, did not detract from the enjoyment of “Boston”, and getting to know Maggie and her husband provided an emotional connection that will remain with readers long after the last page.
The witch trials are still of interest to many people today, for any number of reasons, and “Boston” is a fascinating example of one such experience. Catalano’s debut novel is timely and relevant more than four hundred years later, and definitely will connect with readers everywhere. From the brash and outgoing Maggie, who is penalized to speaking her mind, to the influential community figures (all white men in this case), who literally give themselves the power to play God, while claiming to be his disciples, every chapter in “Boston” is engaging and powerful. If “Boston” is any indication of Catalano’s emerging talent, I can’t wait to see what she creates next.
1646, Massachusetts Bay: Thomas and Margaret Jones are new arrivals to Boston, having left their life in London behind, hoping to start over. Thomas is a cabinet maker and Margaret, “Maggie”, is a healer and midwife and, although, they are at first accepted into their community, it doesn’t take long before the strict, Puritan townspeople take offense to Maggie’s brash, uninhibited and unconventional ways. To the townspeople, Maggie’s ability to treat people and understand their needs looks more like witchcraft than caring and healing, and she is accused of being a “cunning woman” who is friendly with the Devil, and put on trial for being a witch.
Andrea Catalano’s based-on-true-events novel, “The First Witch of Boston” is a sharp and clever depiction of the real Margaret Jones, who was the first person to be hanged as a witch in Massachusetts. The story is narrated by both Thomas, first, and then Maggie, and readers get to witness the passionate love between the couple, and how the accusations do little to affect these feelings. Maggie (as depicted in the book anyway) is a firecracker, refusing to change who she is for anyone, and there is no doubt that readers will cheer for her, regardless of the inevitable outcome.
“Boston” is well-researched, and Catalano puts a creative spin on the story without reducing Margaret’s tragic tale. Right from the start, readers are pulled into the Jones’ simple life, as they deal with the heartbreak of infertility and child loss. Faith and religious hypocrisy are also huge themes in “Boston”, with community members turning to Maggie for help one day, and turning against her the next, in order to protect their reputation in the Puritanical town.
This is the kind of story where the outcome is already known, as witch trials only ever had one ending. That knowledge, however, did not detract from the enjoyment of “Boston”, and getting to know Maggie and her husband provided an emotional connection that will remain with readers long after the last page.
The witch trials are still of interest to many people today, for any number of reasons, and “Boston” is a fascinating example of one such experience. Catalano’s debut novel is timely and relevant more than four hundred years later, and definitely will connect with readers everywhere. From the brash and outgoing Maggie, who is penalized to speaking her mind, to the influential community figures (all white men in this case), who literally give themselves the power to play God, while claiming to be his disciples, every chapter in “Boston” is engaging and powerful. If “Boston” is any indication of Catalano’s emerging talent, I can’t wait to see what she creates next.
October 27, 2025
4.5 stars
“But when people cannot understand something, when they can’t make sense of a thing, they always become fearful. People fear what they do not understand, you see?”
This is based on the true story of Margaret Jones who was found guilty of witchcraft in 1648 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It’s a tragic tale and even though you know the outcome, it’s doesn’t take away from the mesmerizing story.
I found the witch trials and how charges of witchcraft were handled so interesting and the author brought life to an era I knew nothing about. While this book was terrifying and sad, the love story between Thomas and Margaret was beautiful.
“She had said it was because they had been made for each other, intended from the time they ceased to be stars and took their first breaths in the world of the living.”
“But when people cannot understand something, when they can’t make sense of a thing, they always become fearful. People fear what they do not understand, you see?”
This is based on the true story of Margaret Jones who was found guilty of witchcraft in 1648 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It’s a tragic tale and even though you know the outcome, it’s doesn’t take away from the mesmerizing story.
I found the witch trials and how charges of witchcraft were handled so interesting and the author brought life to an era I knew nothing about. While this book was terrifying and sad, the love story between Thomas and Margaret was beautiful.
“She had said it was because they had been made for each other, intended from the time they ceased to be stars and took their first breaths in the world of the living.”
May 16, 2026
I really enjoyed this book, based on the true story of Margaret Jones (Maggie), who was unjustly tried as a witch in Boston in 1648. But it was so much more. The love story between Maggie and her husband Thomas was brilliantly written and their love shone through the pages. Really its about the plight of women, and how women healers/midwifes were treaured, needed and feared in equal measure. Where kindness can be twisted and puritans excessively beleiving in the devils work. I appreciated the obvious research that went into the book. Maggie was told over and over again not to talk back but she just couldnt help herself. Initially told from Thomas's view point which was slower than when it switched to Maggie. Overall its an emotional' heartbreaking and fantastic historical debut novel.
October 13, 2025
"Indeed, Goodman Endecott, Lord help you, all of you, this day. For you are about to execute an innocent woman. You are about to execute an innocent woman for the crime of being a woman, a woman who lived fully, spoke plainly, listened intently, observed acutely, intuited wisely, loved passionately. I am too much for this world of yours, this Jerusalem upon a hill."
The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalona is a powerful and poignant novel based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman unjustly accused and convicted of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
Newly arrived to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1645 from London, Thomas and Margaret Jones are determined to build a new life for themselves and their child that's on their way. The Puritan community, whoever, aren't very keen on a healer and midwife who's bold, unflinching and speaks her truths.Before long, Maggie is no longer seen as a kind woman who helps those in need, but as a cunning figure casting hexes on everyone around her.
The first and biggest part of the novel is in the point of view of Margaret's (aka Maggie) husband Thomas Jones. In part two, there are nine chapters that are in Maggie's point of view. I loved both of these points of view but if I have to pick one I'd choose Thomas because it was interesting to see everything happen from his eyes and how he couldn't stop any of it, sadly enough. The novel was exceptionally well-written and well-researched, with characters who felt very real to me, even though, as with any historical fiction, some creative liberties had to be taken.
I really want to say that I loved Andrea Catalona's author's note where she tells the reader that years ago a person in the publishing industry told her to write a book about some famous man's wife, daughter or sister. Not liking that idea, it's where she got the idea of writing a novel about some famous woman's husband instead. I just thought this was so great of her to turn that idea around. I also loved how the story was inspired by actual diary entries and court records.
Even knowing how the book would end, with Maggie’s execution, I was still heartbroken. And that was far from the first scene to break me. This wasn’t just a story about a witch trial, or about a woman being unjustly executed for daring to have a voice of her own. It was also a close examination of a loving marriage within a Puritan community. The epilogue was another favorite part of the novel for me. Also, shout out to Molly the cat because I loved her so much.
Another thing I want to say is that I've been a bit confused by some reviews stating that there is sex in every chapter or constant sex scenes. This was not my experience with this book at all. Sure, there were some explicit scenes but nowhere near in every chapter or anything. The author wrote Maggie and Thomas as a married couple that loved each other very much and depicted it in that way. But that's just my own opinion of course and other readers are entitled to their own as well.
The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalona is a powerful and poignant novel based on the true story of Margaret Jones, the first woman unjustly accused and convicted of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
Newly arrived to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1645 from London, Thomas and Margaret Jones are determined to build a new life for themselves and their child that's on their way. The Puritan community, whoever, aren't very keen on a healer and midwife who's bold, unflinching and speaks her truths.Before long, Maggie is no longer seen as a kind woman who helps those in need, but as a cunning figure casting hexes on everyone around her.
The first and biggest part of the novel is in the point of view of Margaret's (aka Maggie) husband Thomas Jones. In part two, there are nine chapters that are in Maggie's point of view. I loved both of these points of view but if I have to pick one I'd choose Thomas because it was interesting to see everything happen from his eyes and how he couldn't stop any of it, sadly enough. The novel was exceptionally well-written and well-researched, with characters who felt very real to me, even though, as with any historical fiction, some creative liberties had to be taken.
I really want to say that I loved Andrea Catalona's author's note where she tells the reader that years ago a person in the publishing industry told her to write a book about some famous man's wife, daughter or sister. Not liking that idea, it's where she got the idea of writing a novel about some famous woman's husband instead. I just thought this was so great of her to turn that idea around. I also loved how the story was inspired by actual diary entries and court records.
Even knowing how the book would end, with Maggie’s execution, I was still heartbroken. And that was far from the first scene to break me. This wasn’t just a story about a witch trial, or about a woman being unjustly executed for daring to have a voice of her own. It was also a close examination of a loving marriage within a Puritan community. The epilogue was another favorite part of the novel for me. Also, shout out to Molly the cat because I loved her so much.
Another thing I want to say is that I've been a bit confused by some reviews stating that there is sex in every chapter or constant sex scenes. This was not my experience with this book at all. Sure, there were some explicit scenes but nowhere near in every chapter or anything. The author wrote Maggie and Thomas as a married couple that loved each other very much and depicted it in that way. But that's just my own opinion of course and other readers are entitled to their own as well.
October 6, 2025
Witch trials were often an excuse to murder women who were independent, intelligent and showed an aptitude for science and medicine that resulted in knowledge passed from woman to woman which rivalled the discoveries of men in the same fields but were achieved without the right to education men were afforded.
These were advancements and discoveries women were forced to find themselves, particularly in the study of childbirth and women’s biology because men didn’t deem the study of women’s bodies relevant or meaningful, something we still see in the field of medicine TODAY and affects millions of women who struggle to find medical practitioners who take them seriously.
The witch in our story has all of the skills as the women of our world who were slaughtered for their intelligence and work, but her independence and intelligence is weaponized against her and presented as a character flaw. She swings wildly between unruliness and self hatred. Her strengths (independence, bravery) are ultimately positioned as the weaknesses (foolishness, ill tempered) that lead to her demise and the writing works to make the reader upset that the witch won’t “be quiet,” ultimately forcing the reader to align with the patriarchal values that place women in a position of demure subservience in our society.
For most of the book, it seems the person the author most wants us to feel sorry for is the husband and male protagonist — the same man who cheats on our witch and impregnates his mistress. But we mustn’t blame him. The person who takes the downfall for his mistakes is in fact another woman, one who is practicing demonic witchcraft.
Not the helpful or healing witchcraft our witch and our own ancestors were “caught” practicing whose aim was by and large to help others, women in particular, in need. No, it’s the demonic witchcraft that sparked the satanic panic that lit the flames at the feet of the women who came before us.
I cannot believe this book was written by a woman. While trying to empower, her writing violently pits women against each other so we can blame the misdeeds of a husband on someone else with a uterus while validating the ideology of the witch hunt by creating multiple female characters who leverage “witchcraft” for murder and torture.
This novel was an opportunity to mourn the murder of many women and celebrate womanhood and the ways our community has healed ourselves and each other for generations. Instead, it creates evil, wrongdoing witches, kills the innocent one and focuses on how a woman’s own hanging impacts her husband more than her.
Why a story about one of the first witches to be hanged in the new world insists on being a male-centred allegory with a focus on silencing and slut shaming women is beyond me. Of course, those themes need to be in the book, their inclusion is necessary to reflect what was happening during this time. However, the fact that it is by and large other women passing these judgements and condemning the female protagonist, far more often than male characters, is my issue.
The reason the symbol of the witch has come to be what it is in pop culture is because it celebrates female strength and encourages women to form identities separate from men. We have reclaimed the title to remove it from visions of ugly old spinsters who are unloved and alone to the modern day vision of empowered young women in covens of supportive women coming together to celebrate their womanhood and each other.
Yes, of course, sayings like “we are the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn” can come off a little cringey. But it’s also important that we embrace that righteousness and sisterhood so that we can fight off offensive, dangerous and outdated tropes this book celebrates.
Highly recommend reading In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet for those looking to explore the history of witch hunts, witches in pop culture and the evolution of these ideas through an actual feminist lens.
These were advancements and discoveries women were forced to find themselves, particularly in the study of childbirth and women’s biology because men didn’t deem the study of women’s bodies relevant or meaningful, something we still see in the field of medicine TODAY and affects millions of women who struggle to find medical practitioners who take them seriously.
The witch in our story has all of the skills as the women of our world who were slaughtered for their intelligence and work, but her independence and intelligence is weaponized against her and presented as a character flaw. She swings wildly between unruliness and self hatred. Her strengths (independence, bravery) are ultimately positioned as the weaknesses (foolishness, ill tempered) that lead to her demise and the writing works to make the reader upset that the witch won’t “be quiet,” ultimately forcing the reader to align with the patriarchal values that place women in a position of demure subservience in our society.
For most of the book, it seems the person the author most wants us to feel sorry for is the husband and male protagonist — the same man who cheats on our witch and impregnates his mistress. But we mustn’t blame him. The person who takes the downfall for his mistakes is in fact another woman, one who is practicing demonic witchcraft.
Not the helpful or healing witchcraft our witch and our own ancestors were “caught” practicing whose aim was by and large to help others, women in particular, in need. No, it’s the demonic witchcraft that sparked the satanic panic that lit the flames at the feet of the women who came before us.
I cannot believe this book was written by a woman. While trying to empower, her writing violently pits women against each other so we can blame the misdeeds of a husband on someone else with a uterus while validating the ideology of the witch hunt by creating multiple female characters who leverage “witchcraft” for murder and torture.
This novel was an opportunity to mourn the murder of many women and celebrate womanhood and the ways our community has healed ourselves and each other for generations. Instead, it creates evil, wrongdoing witches, kills the innocent one and focuses on how a woman’s own hanging impacts her husband more than her.
Why a story about one of the first witches to be hanged in the new world insists on being a male-centred allegory with a focus on silencing and slut shaming women is beyond me. Of course, those themes need to be in the book, their inclusion is necessary to reflect what was happening during this time. However, the fact that it is by and large other women passing these judgements and condemning the female protagonist, far more often than male characters, is my issue.
The reason the symbol of the witch has come to be what it is in pop culture is because it celebrates female strength and encourages women to form identities separate from men. We have reclaimed the title to remove it from visions of ugly old spinsters who are unloved and alone to the modern day vision of empowered young women in covens of supportive women coming together to celebrate their womanhood and each other.
Yes, of course, sayings like “we are the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn” can come off a little cringey. But it’s also important that we embrace that righteousness and sisterhood so that we can fight off offensive, dangerous and outdated tropes this book celebrates.
Highly recommend reading In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet for those looking to explore the history of witch hunts, witches in pop culture and the evolution of these ideas through an actual feminist lens.
August 16, 2025
I think it’s such a privilege to be able to read stories that give voice to women wronged in history and my heart literally broke for Maggie.
While this novel is loosely based on her true story, reading it alongside ‘Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World’ made it even more powerful. Elinor Cleghorn’s book is factual and explores how women healers were so often demonised and branded as witches, which helped to give me real historical context highlighting the injustices Maggie was facing.
I gave it 3 ⭐️ because the first half felt a little slow, I think because it’s told from her husband’s perspective. But once I got Maggie’s point of view in the second half, that’s where the novel’s real emotional weight lies.
I think this novel is very poignant and important and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in history, women’s lived experiences and the injustices they endured.
While this novel is loosely based on her true story, reading it alongside ‘Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World’ made it even more powerful. Elinor Cleghorn’s book is factual and explores how women healers were so often demonised and branded as witches, which helped to give me real historical context highlighting the injustices Maggie was facing.
I gave it 3 ⭐️ because the first half felt a little slow, I think because it’s told from her husband’s perspective. But once I got Maggie’s point of view in the second half, that’s where the novel’s real emotional weight lies.
I think this novel is very poignant and important and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in history, women’s lived experiences and the injustices they endured.
August 11, 2025
Quite an interesting read. If you are intrigued by this skeptical time in history, then you’ll not want to miss this one.
September 12, 2025
Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @acatnovelist for the gifted copy
TITLE: The First Witch of Boston
AUTHOR: Andrea Catalano
PUB DATE: 09.01.2025
Andrea Catalano’s The First Witch of Boston is historical fiction at its absolute finest. From the very first chapter, I felt completely transported to the austere world of 1646 Massachusetts Bay Colony, where every gesture, word, and belief could mean survival or ruin.
Catalano’s research is meticulous, but it never weighs the story down; instead, it breathes life into the world of Thomas and Margaret Jones so vividly that I could almost smell the salt of the Boston harbor and hear the whispers of a watchful, judgmental community.
Margaret is fiery, compassionate, and unafraid to speak her mind. She leapt off the page for me. I admired her courage even as I ached for her vulnerability, and Thomas’s steadfast devotion added an emotional depth that is rare and unforgettable. Their marriage feels so real, tender, and human that the unfolding tension becomes all the more heartbreaking. The way Catalano captures fear, love, and injustice, especially the dangers faced by women who dared to step outside rigid expectations, struck me to my core.
This novel is more than a gripping witch trial story; it’s a poignant meditation on love, loyalty, and the cost of being true to oneself in a world ruled by suspicion and fear.
Fans of Kate Quinn or Heather Webb will be enchanted, but anyone who loves deeply human, beautifully written stories will be swept away.
The First Witch of Boston is a masterpiece of atmosphere and emotion, and one that will stay with me for years to come. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Question of the Day: If you could sit down with one woman from history and hear her untold story, who would you choose?
#TheFirstWitchOfBoston #AndreaCatalano #HistoricalFiction #Bookstagram #FiveStarRead #WitchTrials #BookReview #BookishLove #ReadersOfInstagram #BookRecommendation #BookLovers #MustRead #NewRelease #WitchyReads #PuritanBoston #BookAddict #BookishLife #suzyapprovedbooktours
TITLE: The First Witch of Boston
AUTHOR: Andrea Catalano
PUB DATE: 09.01.2025
Andrea Catalano’s The First Witch of Boston is historical fiction at its absolute finest. From the very first chapter, I felt completely transported to the austere world of 1646 Massachusetts Bay Colony, where every gesture, word, and belief could mean survival or ruin.
Catalano’s research is meticulous, but it never weighs the story down; instead, it breathes life into the world of Thomas and Margaret Jones so vividly that I could almost smell the salt of the Boston harbor and hear the whispers of a watchful, judgmental community.
Margaret is fiery, compassionate, and unafraid to speak her mind. She leapt off the page for me. I admired her courage even as I ached for her vulnerability, and Thomas’s steadfast devotion added an emotional depth that is rare and unforgettable. Their marriage feels so real, tender, and human that the unfolding tension becomes all the more heartbreaking. The way Catalano captures fear, love, and injustice, especially the dangers faced by women who dared to step outside rigid expectations, struck me to my core.
This novel is more than a gripping witch trial story; it’s a poignant meditation on love, loyalty, and the cost of being true to oneself in a world ruled by suspicion and fear.
Fans of Kate Quinn or Heather Webb will be enchanted, but anyone who loves deeply human, beautifully written stories will be swept away.
The First Witch of Boston is a masterpiece of atmosphere and emotion, and one that will stay with me for years to come. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Question of the Day: If you could sit down with one woman from history and hear her untold story, who would you choose?
#TheFirstWitchOfBoston #AndreaCatalano #HistoricalFiction #Bookstagram #FiveStarRead #WitchTrials #BookReview #BookishLove #ReadersOfInstagram #BookRecommendation #BookLovers #MustRead #NewRelease #WitchyReads #PuritanBoston #BookAddict #BookishLife #suzyapprovedbooktours
August 26, 2025
The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano. Thanks to @suziebooktours for the gifted signed Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thomas and Margret Jones move to Massachusetts in 1646 for a new life. Margaret’s sharp tongue and knowledge of herbal remedies does not help her settle into the puritan community.
An entertaining and vividly done story of a woman who doesn’t play by the pious rules of her New England Puritan community in 1646. We all know what happened to women like Goody Jones at that time and place. I loved how it is based on a true story and includes diary excerpts and court records. I couldn’t put this one down. It is not only entertaining but tears at the heart strings. I loved the courtroom scenes and how the author even managed some humorous laugh out loud moments.
“I am too much for this world of yours, this Jerusalem on a hill. I am a force that makes you quake.”
The First Witch of Boston comes out 9/1.
Thomas and Margret Jones move to Massachusetts in 1646 for a new life. Margaret’s sharp tongue and knowledge of herbal remedies does not help her settle into the puritan community.
An entertaining and vividly done story of a woman who doesn’t play by the pious rules of her New England Puritan community in 1646. We all know what happened to women like Goody Jones at that time and place. I loved how it is based on a true story and includes diary excerpts and court records. I couldn’t put this one down. It is not only entertaining but tears at the heart strings. I loved the courtroom scenes and how the author even managed some humorous laugh out loud moments.
“I am too much for this world of yours, this Jerusalem on a hill. I am a force that makes you quake.”
The First Witch of Boston comes out 9/1.
August 10, 2025
Here is another book that I have to be the spoiler for. To me, this is like reading a romance novel. With all the high ratings I thought it would be a more accurate telling, but, without all the sexy, heavy breathing sex scenes, this novel wouldn't amount to much. I can't endure any more doses of Spanish Fly and love potions and potions to ward off the devil, etc. There are lots of books to read about the witch trials without having to put up with this silliness between grown people, at a puritanistic time when messing around was serious business.
September 10, 2025
Since as far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the witch trials, most notably the Salem Witch Trials. I remember doing a research paper in elementary school about the witch trials (which seems dark, I wouldn't have wanted my kids at that age exposed to such brutality and injustice) and my interest never waned.
It was no surprise I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of The First Witch of Boston.
The author did an extraordinary job bringing 400 year old voices to life. It was a captivating story with well developed characters and the emotions were palpable. As usual, I read the authors notes and acknowledgements, which were the icing on the cake.
Brava Andrea Caralano! What an impressive debut.
This book is available in Kindle Unlimited INCLUDING AUDIO and I highly recommend checking out the audio. The narration was absolutely superb.
It was no surprise I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of The First Witch of Boston.
The author did an extraordinary job bringing 400 year old voices to life. It was a captivating story with well developed characters and the emotions were palpable. As usual, I read the authors notes and acknowledgements, which were the icing on the cake.
Brava Andrea Caralano! What an impressive debut.
This book is available in Kindle Unlimited INCLUDING AUDIO and I highly recommend checking out the audio. The narration was absolutely superb.
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