Confess: the untold story of Dorothy Good by Juliette van der Molen

Description

Here’s what others are saying:

 

“Confess: The untold story of Dorothy Good is a greatly unique compilation of writing and documentation that thoroughly engulfs the reader into the world of Dorothy Good and life in Salem, Massachusetts during the infamous witch trials of the late 17th century. Each poem you read unravels another layer of this gripping tale of hardship and despair. From the riveting use of verse in “Devil’s Issue” and “Plead” that leaves you gasping for more; to the empathy inducing authentic Text of Ann Putnam’s Confession. You will not be able to put this collection down!”

Daniel W. Romagno,
Host of The Past Less Traveled Podcast

 

“In telling the story of four-year-old Dorothy Good, the youngest to be charged of witchcraft at the Salem witch trials, Juliette takes a stand against history’s proclivity to dehumanise people and reduce them to “a line of text within the larger context.” With lines of text, no less, Juliette spins a lifeline drawing Dorothy back from the realm of the lost, the forgotten, the uncared-for spirits whose stories demand to be told.

Juliette is a time-travelling master with a gift for historical storytelling. Immersing the reader in times past, she teases out the very few details of recorded history and weaves them into the fullness of a real child’s life.

In “Poppet, Mine”, Dorothy is alone and cold and nestling in a haylift for warmth in the bitterness of winter. Dorothy pours her love and need for companionship into a scrap of flannel she makes believe is a doll, but from our privileged contemporary vantage point we can already see that such a keepsake could be judged to be a witch’s poppet; a tool for maleficence.

i am untold
i am undone
i am all the ‘un’ things
until i am no one.

Dorothy’s tragedy is even more heartbreaking in light of her young age. To read this collection of poems is to discover lost aspects of the Salem trials, to see a terrible fate unfold, and to hear Dorothy’s voice calling across the centures that she may never be forgotten. Dorothy is undone, yes. But, thanks to the skill and craft of Juliette van der Molen, she is someone, not ‘no one’, and no longer untold.”

Magda Knight,
Founding Editor of Mookychick

 

“Confess: the untold story of Dorothy Good is a cautionary tale of persecution and othering that while providing us a window into our past, bestows upon us a warning for our present. The emotional trauma that must have been endured is felt within every piece of Juliette’s hauntingly, beautiful interpretation of one little girl’s experience during the Salem Witch Trials. Confess, is a wonderful, thought provoking piece of work.”

Leah Werth,
Co-Host of Time Travel Talks

 

“Juliette van der Molen’s Confess: The Untold Story of Dorothy Good makes the reader feel the icy atmosphere of 1692 Puritan society and their wintery weather when crops were failing as well as the flaming rage in a child’s heart when her falsely accused mother was taken away to die and she was left to her own abuse. Van der Molen’s language is as carefully used as the words in a testimony against a neighbor, and she warns us we as people are not just made of skin, judgment, and apologies. Her words are like ash in the mouth- a burnt smoke haunting the palate long after they have been removed from the tongue.”

December Lace