Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The familiar characters of Hawthorne's dark tale of pride and guilt in colonial New England are given new and added immediacy in the 24 wood engravings by master illustrator Barry Moser.

Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1867. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give... (more)

The Heretic's Daughter: A Novel

by Kathleen Kent

Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem , Massachusetts . Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the... (more)

Witch Child

by Celia Rees

Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true... (more)

The Wordy Shipmates

by Sarah Vowell

The Wordy Shipmates is New York Times –bestselling author Sarah Vowell’s exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill”—a shining example, a “city that cannot be hid.” To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means— and what it should mean. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who... (more)

The Crucible

by Arthur Miller

Based on historical people and real events, Arthur Miller's play uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism. Introduction by Christopher Bigsby

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

by Nathaniel Philbrick, Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick became an internationally renowned author with his National Book Award– winning In the Heart of the Sea , hailed as "spellbinding" by Time magazine. In Mayflower , Philbrick casts his spell once again, giving us a fresh and extraordinarily vivid account of our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. From the Mayflower ’s... (more)

The Valley of Vision

by Arthur Bennett

A selection of prayers and meditations in the Puritan tradition, widely valued since publication in 1975 Additional Information Puritans wrote down their prayers as a way of keeping a record of God's

The Winthrop Woman: A Novel

by Anya Seton

First published in 1958 and set in the early 17th century, this bestselling novel—and follow-up to Katherine —follows Elizabeth Winthrop, a courageous Puritan woman who finds herself at odds with her heritage and surroundings. A real historical figure, Elizabeth married into the family of Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In those times of hardship, famine, and Indian attacks, many believed... (more)

A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

by J. I. Packer

J. I. Packer has had a long-standing passion for the Puritans. Their understanding of God and His ways with man has largely formed his own spirituality and theological outlook. In A Quest for Godliness , the esteemed author of Knowing God and a dozen other books shares with his readers the rich world of Puritanism that has been so influential in his own life. Dr. Packer masterfully uncovers the hidden... (more)

The Reformed Pastor: A Pattern for Personal Growth and Ministry (Classics of Faith and Devotion)

The Reformed Pastor: A Pattern for Personal Growth and Ministry (Classics of Faith and Devotion)

by Richard Baxter

Despite the title, this book is equally informative to those in the pulpit and those in the pew. It was penned when Baxter was unable to attend a meeting of ministers, so he wrote this to them. It covers what it means to take heed to ourselves, to the flock, to spiritual things, to church discipline. He prays for unity and peace in the churches, for greater vigor on the part of everyone in expressing our life in... (more)

A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials

A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials

by Ann Rinaldi

Susanna desperately wants to join the circle of girls who meet every week at the parsonage. What she doesn't realize is that the girls are about to set off a torrent of false accusations leading to the imprisonment and execution of countless innocent people. Susanna faces a painful choice. Should she keep quiet and let the witch-hunt panic continue, or should she "break charity" with the group--and risk having her... (more)

Dear America

I Walk in Dread

The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials

by Lisa Rowe Fraustino

Deliverance Trembley lives in Salem Village, where she must take care of her sickly sister, Mem, and where she does her daily chores in fear of her cruel uncle's angry temper. But when four young girls from the village accuse some of the local women of being witches, Deliverance finds herself caught up in the ensuing drama of the trials. And life in Salem is never the same.

American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans

American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans

by Eve LaPlante

The Dramatic Story of America's Founding Mother

Worldly Saints

by Leland Ryken

Dr. Ryken's presentation of the Puritan view and style of life is perceptive and accurate. He allows the Puritans to speak for themselves on topics ranging from "Church and Worship" to "Money" and "Marriage and Sex."

The Witchcraft of Salem Village (Landmark Books)

The Witchcraft of Salem Village (Landmark Books)

by Shirley Jackson

Stories of magic, superstition, and witchcraft were strictly forbidden in the little town of Salem Village. But a group of young girls ignored those rules, spellbound by the tales told by a woman named Tituba. When questioned about their activities, the terrified girls set off a whirlwind of controversy as they accused townsperson after townsperson of being witches. Author Shirley Jackson examines in careful... (more)

Sorceress (Witch Child)

by Celia Rees

For the legions of readers spellbound by WITCH CHILD, here’s the fascinating next chapter - thanks to a Native American descendant with an uncanny link to the past. Agnes closed her eyes in the heat and steam of the sweat lodge. She woke to air that was dry and cold around her. She was no longer Agnes, or even Karonhisake, Searching Sky. She was no longer American or Haudenosaunee. She was English, and her... (more)

The Glory of Christ (Puritan Paperbacks: Treasures of John Owen for Today's Readers)

The Glory of Christ (Puritan Paperbacks: Treasures of John Owen for Today's Readers)

by John Owen

Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ, in His Person, Office, and Grace: with the Differences between Faith and Sight; applied unto the use of them that believe.

God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution

God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution

by Christopher Hill

This is a nuanced biography of Oliver Cromwell, breaking down Cromwell's life into different parts: fenland farmer and humble backbencher; stalwart of the good old cause and the New Model Army; key figure of the Commonwealth; and, finally Lord Protector. Hill leads the reader unsentimentally through Cromwell's life from his beginnings in Huntingdonshire to his brutal end. Hill brings all his considerable knowledge... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: puritans

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

by Elizabeth George Speare

by Kathleen Kent

by Celia Rees

by Sarah Vowell

by Arthur Miller

by Nathaniel Philbrick, Nathaniel Philbrick

by Arthur Bennett

by Anya Seton

by J. I. Packer

by Richard Baxter

by Ann Rinaldi

The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials

by Lisa Rowe Fraustino

by Eve LaPlante

by Leland Ryken

by Shirley Jackson

by Celia Rees

by John Owen

by Christopher Hill

by Joseph Alleine