Northern New England, summer, 1688.
Salem started here.

A suspicious death. A rumor of war. Whispers of witchcraft.

Perched on the brink of disaster, Resolve Hammond and her mother, Deliverance, struggle to survive in their isolated coastal village. They’re known as healers taught by the local tribes – and suspected of witchcraft by the local villagers.

Their precarious existence becomes even more chaotic when summoned to tend to a poisoned woman. As they uncover a web of dark secrets, rumors of war engulf the village, forcing the Hammonds to choose between loyalty to their native friends or the increasingly terrified settler community.

As Resolve is plagued by strange dreams, she questions everything she thought she knew – about her family, her closest friend, and even herself. If the truth comes to light, the repercussions will be felt far beyond the confines of this small settlement.

Based on meticulous research and inspired by the true story of the fear and suspicion that led to the Salem Witchcraft Trials, THE DEVIL’S GLOVE is a tale of betrayal, loyalty, and the power of secrets. Will Resolve be able to uncover the truth before the town tears itself apart, or will she become the next victim of the village’s dark and mysterious past?

Praise for The Devil’s Glove:

“From its opening lines this historical novel from Grindle (Villa Triste) grips with its rare blend of a powerfully evoked past, resonant characters, smart suspense, and prose touched with shivery poetry.”

~ BookLife Reviews Editor’s Pick

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From the Author:

I lived with Resolve Hammond for ten years before she finally escaped on to the first page of The Devil’s Glove. So, you would think we knew each other pretty well. But in the year that followed, she never ceased to surprise me. And that is one of the delights of writing fiction – the way characters  become themselves, often in ways you would never predict.

They can be eccentric. They trip, break ankles and develop a limps. Or cut off all their hair. Sometimes they’re more mundane, deciding to hate cats or be left-handed. Things that don’t much difference. Often though, they get up to stuff that is really inconvenient, often destroying a beautifully planned plot  in the process.

The greatest writing teacher I ever had warned me about this wrecking ball tendency. Specifically, he warned never to try to ride herd on a rogue character. If they are on their way to the supermarket and end up in a jazz club, well you better start tapping your foot and listen up. Because they are telling you, in no uncertain terms – that plot you thought was so good? Hmmn, maybe not. Or at least nowhere near as good as what happens when characters flex their muscles and take on lives of their own. Because that’s when the page comes alive. That’s the sweet unpredictable magic – the alchemy of writing fiction.

But what about historical fiction? Salem happened in 1692, in Massachusetts, even if all your characters suddenly decide to go to Rhode Island. True enough. Historical fiction, the placing of characters in the frame-work of actual events does have boundaries, at least in terms of date, place, and who killed whom. But how your characters react, what they feel, what drives them and inhibits them and leads them to make the choices they make; all of those crucial components that make someone who they are instead of merely what they are – that’s all up for grabs. That’s all up to them. Which is why books often don’t come out they way we think they will when we write that first sentence. Sometimes, you don’t know what your story is until you let your characters tell you.

When I started The Devil’s Glove, I was interested in who the women who got sucked into that firestorm – as accusers or accused or simply collateral damage – were. I thought I might be writing about group hysteria or, well, who knew? It turned out, they did. As the Hammonds, and Judah White, and Mercy Lewis and Abigail Hobbs took on lives of their own, I realized I was writing about survival. About the ways in which each of a group of women bound together by circumstance navigated her own history in order to survive. In the end, they told a much better story than I could have, and took me on a much wilder ride. I hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as I did.

Author Bio:

Lucretia Grindle grew up and went to school and university in England and the United States. After a brief career in journalism, she worked for The United States Equestrian Team organizing ‘kids and ponies,’ and for the Canadian Equestrian Team. For ten years, she produced and owned Three Day Event horses that competed at The World Games, The European Games and the Atlanta Olympics. In 1997, she packed a five mule train across 250 miles of what is now Grasslands National Park on the Saskatchewan/Montana border tracing the history of her mother’s family who descend from both the Sitting Bull Sioux and the first officers of the Canadian Mounties.

Returning to graduate school as a ‘mature student’, Lucretia completed an MA in Biography and Non-Fiction at The University of East Anglia where her work, FIREFLIES, won the Lorna Sage Prize. Specializing in the 19th century Canadian West, the Plains Tribes, and American Indigenous and Women’s History, she is currently finishing her PhD dissertation at The University of Maine.

Lucretia is the author of the psychological thrillers, THE NIGHTSPINNERS, shortlisted for the Steel Dagger Award, and THE FACES of ANGELS, one of BBC FrontRow’s six best books of the year, shortlisted for the Edgar Award. Her historical fiction includes, THE VILLA TRISTE, a novel of the Italian Partisans in World War II, a finalist for the Gold Dagger Award, and THE LOST DAUGHTER, a fictionalized account of the Aldo Moro kidnapping. She has been fortunate enough to be awarded fellowships at The Hedgebrook Foundation, The Hawthornden Foundation, The Hambidge Foundation, The American Academy in Paris, and to be the Writer in Residence at The Wallace Stegner Foundation. A television drama based on her research and journey across Grasslands is currently in development. THE DEVIL’S GLOVE and the concluding books of THE SALEM TRILOGY are drawn from her research at The University of Maine where Lucretia is grateful to have been a fellow at the Canadian American Foundation.

She and her husband, David Lutyens, live in Shropshire.

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