A Novel of Salem

The great success last year of Stacy Schiff's The Witches proves, once again, that abiding interest in the Salem Witch Trials remains high. Richard Francis's stunning novel Crane Pond is the story of Samuel Sewall, loving father and husband, anti-slavery advocate, defender of Native American rights, and presiding judge at the Salem Witchcraft trials in 1692, where he sentenced twenty innocent women to death. He was the only judge to later admit his terrible mistake, and ask for forgiveness.

At once a searing view of the Trials from the inside out, an empathetic portrait of one of the period's most tragic and redemptive figures, and an indictment of the malevolent power of religious and political idealism, it is an absorbing new telling of one of our founding stories.

Crane Pond explores the inner life of a well-meaning man who did evil. It humanizes an unflinching portrait of political hysteria that is as relevant today as it was in the seventeenth century. The novel brings to life Sewall's efforts to piece together a new perspective from shattered preconceptions—illuminating his search for atonement, peace, and ultimately a renewal of hope.

Richard Francis, Sewall's most lauded biographer, seamlessly marries rigorous research and an astute understanding of a deeply complex character to a compelling dramatic framework sure to enchant the wide readership of quality historical fiction.

Richard Francis
Richard Francis was educated at Cambridge and Harvard. He has written 17 books, both fiction and nonfiction, including a number of books on American history and thought. His award-winning novels and books of nonfiction have been published by leading houses in London and New York, including Fourth Estate, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, W.W. Norton, Faber & Faber, and Pantheon. He and his wife live in Bath.

• Mar 9 2017
  Affable, He Convicted Salem Innocents
  — The New York Review of Books
• Nov 25 2016
  "Crane Pond succeeds wonderfully, conveying mania without condescension and honoring decency without any suggestion of cynicism."
  — Open Letters Monthly
• Nov 2 2016
  "In Crane Pond, Richard Francis creates a nuanced, compassionate and fascinating portrait of Samuel Sewall, the unwilling hanging judge...taking us beyond the complacency with which we often view this iconic moment in American history."
  — Historical Novel Society
• Oct 31 2016
  "The paralysing effect of mob psychology and the shocking passive acceptance of brutality make Crane Pond a profoundly thoughtful, gripping, at times harrowing reading experience."
  — Bookanista
• Oct 14 2016
  “Crane Pond is fascinatingly engaging and thought provoking, the best kind of storytelling.”
  — Shelf Awareness
• Sep 15 2016
  "Fans of Stacy Schiff's meticulous research of The Witches: Salem, 1692 and Oliver Pötzsch's solemn tone in The Hangman's Daughter will relish this well-imagined personal journey."
  — Library Journal (Starred Review)