Daughter of Satan

by Jean Plaidy

Even Tamar's mother believed that the child had been forced on her by the Devil when, against her judgement, she was persuaded to attend a midsummer sabbat of witches. In a world of superstition and intolerance, Tamar, growing into a wild and beautiful girl, seemed doomed to violent death when the witch-pricker came to Plymouth. Intelligent though untutored, she attracted the attentions of Bartle Cavill, the lusty gentleman-adventurer, home from the Spanish Main: moreover the puritan Humility Brown, was not unaware of her. These two men attracted her as she attracted them, but for different reasons representing as they did, the one passion, the other piety. Daughter of Satan is a moving and exciting novel of fanaticism and persecution, of witches and puritans, of a band of exiles who, because life was becomingly intolerable for them at home, were ready to cross and ocean to face storm and tempest, pirates and savages-even the Spanish inquisition-that they might seek refuge in a new land. From Old Plymouth to New Plymouth in search of a new life, came Tamar, the passionate pilgrim, the woman whom many believed to be the daughter of Satan.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance, 16th Century, Novels

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Janis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult time to read about. Total intolerance for anyone who believes or acts differently than you do. Committing evil under the guise of godliness. As I see more and more intolerance in the news daily, it makes me fearful that we are not so far removed from that time as we want to believe.

[Chrisangel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daughter of Stupidity is more like it! What a letdown! She was so different, so non-conformist (thought to be a spawn of the devil, when in fact the illegitimate child of a prominent man), she made everyone else look like dull sheep following the crowd. And how does she wind up? Married to a dull, self-righteous Puritan who calls everyone a sinner, thinks sex is sinful lust unless it's to make babies (interestingly, he wants a lot of children) and becomes trapped in a life she was never meant for, all because she couldn't handle her love/hate/desire for a seafaring rogue, who blackmailed her into bed twice, has more vices than virtues, then was lost at sea after she turned down his marriage proposal for the umpteenth time.

I was so disappointed by this foolishness (with a world full of men, these two were her only choices???) that I couldn't finish this dumb book.

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love historical dramas

[Isabel Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿Era Tamar hija del diablo? Así lo creyó su madre, forzada por un desconocido en una noche de aquelarre. Así lo creyó ella mientras se iba convirtiendo de bella joven en espléndida mujer. Así lo creían también sus vecinos, o muchos de ellos. Atrapada en el asfixiante fanatismo de la Inglaterra del siglo XVII, acechada por los cazadores de brujas, rota entre el amor sensual del arrogante caballero Bartle Cavill y el sombrío cariño del puritano Humility Brown, la vida de Tamar sólo logrará el equilibrio -y el amor- en un nuevo mundo: el de los pioneros de América del Norte. La hija del diablo es una denuncia de la intolerancia en el marco de una apasionada reconstrucción histórica. Pero también es un canto al triunfo del amor y de la entrega sobre la brutalidad, la malicia y el miedo de una sociedad.
No me gustó mucho q digamos. De por sí las historias de esta autora no suelen ser muy románticas pero a ésta se lo sacó de cuajo. Ok, sí hay un final feliz pero lo q vino antes me pareció exagerado e innecesario.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tamar was conceived on midsummer's night. When asked who the father was her mother would not say but if pressed would say it was the devil.

This book was first published in 1952 so it is what it is. The story is a bit of a rags to riches, cinderella type story but with the theme of witchcraft and the persecution of witches. At times the story is a little flowery as there is a romance to it also. I did feel at times that the story lost the witchcraft element, then all of a sudden it came back into the story.

The story was a little dated and it would be good to see it reworked and to be made a little darker. Miss Plaidy for me is a well respected author and her historical novels are a pleasure to read. This book was ok and to a certain degree I did enjoy it, although it was a little bit dated.

[Kerry Blaisdell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked a random book off my TBR pile, and this was it - I found it on the library free shelf a couple years ago. I used to read this type of ~1970s historical "romance" novel all the time (when that's all that was available, for the most part :)), but this one first came out in 1952! It was pretty good for the era in which it was written, but mainly what was good and interesting were the historical details. Even when they got to the New World and met the indigenous people, it wasn't as badly white-centric as it could have been. Still - an old book, from an older era!

[Tammy Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about a young girl who believes she is the product of an encounter between her mother and Satan. The people in her village think the same. Great characters and plenty of twists and turns.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, so much I had to add it to my library collection. I would definitely recommend reading!

[Marynaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso, Tamar pasa por tantas dificultades a lo largo de su vida, que es imposible abandonarla a medio camino. Retrata la sociedad inglesa corrompida y paranoica por la inquisición y el fanatismo religioso, que da la espalda a cualquiera que no cumpla con los dogmas.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a supernatural novel as the title may suggest, although during the time it's set - late 1500s & early 1600s - superstition was rife.

Anyone who's interested in the persecution of witches during Elizabethan & Jacobean England should enjoy this. Ms Plaidy does a great job of evoking those superstitious times and the horror that arose for many women, plus a few men, who lost their lives for reasons that seem utterly preposterous in this age.

The author also highlights the hypocrisy of the Puritan religion and how its cruel punishments administered to those who (in their eyes) sin are nothing less than absurd.

The girl many believe to be Satan's daughter is Tamar; a beautiful brunette who thinks she possesses the dark powers that others say she has, yet many of her kind actions contradict the evil spirit that supposedly dwells within her.

As a character Tamar is strong and likable. Her confrontations, and such like, with Bartle - the hero, or perhaps anti-hero, depending on your viewpoint - are all entertaining.

I liked the first third of the book best when Tamar is growing up from the age of about six to twenty. That's not to say it goes downhill after this section, but I did enjoy the earlier scenes and the development of Tamar's character best of all.

A very good read.

[Vmontgzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me mantuvo entretenida mas no me encanto pero me parecio interesante el tema de los primeros colonos en USA y lo fanaticos que la Holt dice que eran los puritanos, me gustaria leer algo de ese tipo en romantica pero no encuentro mucho.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witchcraft in Puritan New England.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an entertaining read, with a passionate heroine and not so good male parts.
Not a time when it was easy to be different.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read when you want a bit of historical romantic escapism.