A Mirror for Witches

Esther Forbes's dark, mock-archaic tale opens in a world where witchcraft, temptation, and judgment seem woven into history itself. Against that ominous backdrop stands Doll Bilby, a child born of witch-parents, burned in Brittany, and rescued by Captain Jared Bilby, who raises her in England as his own and trusts that love can remake her. Instead, Doll grows into a figure of uncanny intensity, unsettling Jared's barren wife Hannah, whose jealousy, fears of sterility, and suspicion of the child deepen the household's spiritual strain. After the Bilbys sail to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the story widens into a stark New England landscape of forest, loneliness, and communal dread. Minister Zacharias Zelley tries to reason against the colony's mounting witch fears, but rumors, petty signs, and a straw doll in church ignite suspicion. Goodwife Greene, with her herbs and Native ties, becomes an easy target, while Doll's visions, guilt, and hunger for occult knowledge draw her further toward danger. As spring returns, she seems more powerful than ever, reading omens, seeking secrets, and drifting toward a fate shaped by fear, faith, and witchcraft. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.