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When Light Breaks Through takes us beyond the witch trials to tell a riveting, expansive story about Salem Village.
In 1692, twelve-year-old Ann Putnam becomes notorious as a ringleader of the “afflicted children” whose accusations of witchcraft against the people of Massachusetts and Maine lead to twenty executions and untold misery. Five years later, Joseph Green, a young schoolteacher who is in love and eager to marry, takes on the ministry of Salem Village that no one else will have and sets about mending the bitter divisions in the church and the village that the witch trials have intensified. As Joseph marries Elizabeth and they enter the life of the village, he gradually earns the respect and trust of his congregation, eventually taking some dramatic actions that move the people to confront their future together as a community.
Nine years after Joseph’s arrival, Ann asks his help, seeking forgiveness and the chance to become part of the community that has shunned her since the devastating effects of her actions during the witch trials. Together, they delve into the darkness of her past, uncovering startling truths about her family and her childhood motivations. Standing before the neighbors whose loved ones she has sent to jail or to their deaths, she makes an appeal that could finally unite the people in forgiveness.
The compelling narrative takes us from what begins as daring, adolescent games invented by Abigail Williams, the other ringleader in the witch trials, to the intense, often shocking drama of the trials themselves, and to the small farming village in 17th-century Massachusetts where Joseph Green pursues his quest to unite a bitterly divided people.
When Light Breaks Through is fact-based historical fiction. Its characters are based on real people. Its account of the witch trials and the public events surrounding them is grounded in public documents and historical research.