The Witch of Blackbird Pond



The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a 1958 historical novel by Elisabeth George Speare, set in the historic town of Wethersfield, Connecticut.

Kit Tyler is thrown into the subdued, rough life of a Puritan. After her upbringing on a rich plantation on Barbados, obedience and religious piety are hard pills for her to swallow. She learns to bear her new life by befriending an outcast old widow, a neglected child, and the playful sailor whose ship ushered her to her new home. Kit slowly tries to fit in until accusations of witchcraft threaten to undo everything, and may cost her her life.

Provides examples of:

 * Aborted Declaration of Love -  When he realizes what has happened, he keeps quiet for sake of embarrassing everyone involved.
 * Abusive Parents - Goodwife Cruff is this to Prudence, while Goodman Cruff is too much of a Henpecked Husband to stand up for their daughter.
 * As the Good Book Says - As the book is set in Puritan New England, many characters quote and read from the Bible at length.
 * Broken Bird - Nat fears that this will become Kit's fate in the harsh social environment of Wethersfield. He even compares her to a bird he once wanted to buy on a tropical island, but his father explained to him that it would die if he brought it to New England.
 * Cannot Spit It Out - The unspoken love between is in serious jeopardy due to their inability to spit it out. When, Kit is screaming inside for him to spit it out, but he still can't manage it.
 * City Mouse - Kit is a formerly rich city mouse from Barbados who comes to live with her aunt and uncle in the small Puritan colony. She has incredible difficulty adjusting to a homely life where a silk dress is considered frippery by her uncle when she was raised with slaves and finery as a plantation master's granddaughter.
 * Cloudcuckoolander - Hannah is an isolated old woman, nearly blind with age, who practices an outcast religion, has been accused as a witch and heretic more than once, and often forgets her husband is no longer among the living.
 * Big "Shut Up!" -
 * Everything's Cuter With Kittens Hannah's cure for sad children is blueberry cake and a kitten. It never fails.
 * First Boy Wins -
 * Fish Out of Water - Kit, the aforementioned City Mouse, transplanted from Barbados to Puritan New England.
 * Henpecked Husband - Goodman Adam Cruff is very much under the thumb of his wife, so far as he doesn't dare speak against her abuse of their daughter.
 * The Heretic - Hannah is described as a heretic and witch because she refuses to attend Sunday Meetings. Several of Kit's free-willed acts are called heretical.
 * Identical Grandson - Judith and Kit look exactly like their mothers Rachel and Margaret respectively. Kit's resemblance to her mother is so startling to her aunt that she nearly falls over on seeing her the first time.
 * Ill Girl - Mercy's poor health and lame leg are the result of a fever she caught as a small child.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy - Mercy refuses to speak a word of her love of to anyone. Even if it means watching him marry someone else.
 * Lap Pillow -
 * Love Dodecahedron  Whew!
 * Love Epiphany - She's shocked to realize she loves him, and spends the rest of the winter anxiously awaiting his return.
 * May-December Romance - Kit leaves Barbados because one of her grandfather's creditors is trying to push her into marriage. She's sixteen and he's fifty.
 * Mistaken Declaration of Love - John comes to the Wood house to ask for hand in marriage. When he says he wants to ask Mathew about something,  takes it as a proposal to her and jumps happily on it.
 * One Head Taller - Nat is described as having his shoulders level with the top of Kit's head.
 * Pair the Spares -
 * Settle for Sibling -
 * Think Happy Thoughts - Kit gets through the winter by clinging to the memory of a dream she had of standing on the prow of a boat bound for her home, Barbados.
 * Torches and Pitchforks - Several of the townspeople who mob together to bring Hannah Tupper to "justice" sport torches.
 * Weddings for Everyone -
 * When She Smiles - Kit is unaware of her dazzling smile, and confused by the romantic overtures it invites.
 * Witch Hunt - When a serious illness sweeps the town, angry residents begin looking for someone to blame as children start dying. They immediately go to fetch Hannah Tupper, whom the town has always whispered about being a witch.