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Salem descendent delivers to MJ

Mari Evans at Michael Joseph has won an auction for The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, who is a direct descendant of two Salem witches. Evans struck the deal with Cathryn Summerhayes for Suzanne Gluck at William Morris, and will publish in summer 2009.

The novel centres on a Harvard graduate student, who spends the summer clearing out an old family home in New England. She finds a clue in her grandmother's Bible, and sets out to uncover family secrets linked to the Salem witches.

Evans said: "This is a fabulously commercial novel and has everything one could wish for-a gripping historical strand, a charismatic young heroine, a splash of romance, arcane mystery and Harvard conspiracy and, more importantly, a tradition of strong and powerful women stretching back through the ages. And, of course, the author’s own family history lends an additional frisson to the story."

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