The Shape of Mercy
Page 27
An amazingly gifted editorial team at WaterBrook Multnomah, especially Shannon Hill, Jessica Barnes, Laura Wright, and Mick Silva. Your insights sharpened this story’s every page.
My family, particularly my husband, Bob, and my parents, Bill and Judy Horning, for unflagging encouragement.
Chip MacGregor at MacGregor Literary, for affirmation at every turn.
Kindred spirits Kathy Sanders Zufelt, Linda Emmert, and Tanya Siebert, for life support during the hectic cross-country move when this tale took form.
God, the very essence and shape of everything wonderful and good.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Salem witch trials comprise a sad collection of events in American history, events that illustrate what can happen when judgment is cast without knowledge. Though they are a fitting backdrop for The Shape of Mercy, this book is foremost a story, not a commentary; a story about three women—all fictional—who wrestle with the concept that we tend to judge people based on notions rather than on truth, and without stopping to consider if we even have the right to judge them at all.
Only a few liberties were taken with the historicity of the witch trials, and these purely for the sake of crafting Mercy Hayworth’s story.
I love hearing from readers and would treasure your thoughts on this book. You are the reason I write.
Susan Meissner
www.susanmeissner.com
RESOURCES
Carlson, Laurie Winn. A Fever in Salem—A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1999.
Francis, Richard. Judge Sewall’s Apology—The Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.
Fraustino, Lisa Rowe. I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials New York: Scholastic, 2004.
Gaskill, Malcolm. Witchfinders. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005.
Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan—The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Da Capo, 1997.
Hill, Frances. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. New York: Da Capo, 2000.
Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.
Warner, John F. Colonial American Homelife. New York: Franklin Watts, 1993.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From early school-day projects to becoming editor of a local newspaper in Minnesota, Susan Meissner’s love for writing has been apparent her entire life. The Shape of Mercy is her latest novel in a string of books that delve into the deeper issues of life. She is the author of nine novels and lives with her family in San Diego. Find out more about her at www.susanmeissner.com.
Visit Susans blog at http://theshapeofmercy.blogspot.com
THE SHAPE OF MERCY
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
A division of Random House Inc.
Apart from well-known real people and real events associated with the Salem witch trials of 1692, the characters and events in this book are fictional and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by Susan Meissner
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of The Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
WATERBROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Meissner, Susan, 1961–
The shape of mercy : a novel / Susan Meissner.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-75833-0
I. Title.
PS3613.E435S53 2008
813′.6—dc22
2008017945
v3.0_r1