Chevy Chase Fiction Book Club

Hour of the Witch

Join us as we discuss a historical fiction selection; by author Chris Bohjalian.

The Chevy Chase Library elevator currently out of service and undergoing modernization replacement. This program is held in the downstairs meeting room, and it is only accessible by the stairs.

"Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life.

But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary—a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony—soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary’s garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.

A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt." - Publisher

Join our friendly book group! Each month we read either a non-fiction (first Wednesday at 3:30) or fiction (third Wednesday at 3:30) selection. Titles are announced a month before,and copies are available at the Circulaiton Desk. Discussion questions are provided with the selection.

Check out the author's website.

Want to read more fiction? Enjoy other fiction titles in our MCPL catalog.  

Questions about this program? Contact Chevy Chase Library at: 240-773-9590

Looking for more fun things to do at MCPL? 

Check out the library's website to see what you can do with a library card. Don't have a card right now?  No worries!  Find out how to Get a Library Card.

Accommodation Requests

People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request English-language captioning or sign-language interpretation at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to attend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager at 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.

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