Dulcibel: A Tale of Old Salem

Salem, 1692. The witch trials have not yet begun, but the village already smolders with small cruelties and unspoken dangers. Dulcibel Burton, a young heiress orphaned and alone, must navigate a world where her wealth makes her a target and her beauty makes her a prize. She finds herself torn between two men: Jethro Sands, whose honest affection offers something like safety, and the dangerous currents of village politics that threaten to pull her under. But it is Leah Herrick, a rival for both love and social standing, who may prove the most perilous threat of all. As accusations of witchcraft begin to ripple through Salem like a cold wind, Peterson constructs his drama with care, showing how personal jealousy can weaponize communal fear, and how a woman's fate can hinge on who loves her and who wishes to see her destroyed. This is historical fiction of an older stripe, more concerned with the machinery of the heart than the mechanics of persecution, though the shadow of the gallows haunts every page.