La Salle, Peru libraries virtually host ‘The Hour of the Witch’ author

The La Salle and Peru libraries will be partnering with Palos Heights Public Library and other Illinois libraries, to virtually host author, Chris Bohjalian, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27.

Chris Bohjalian is a New York Times bestselling author of 22 books. His work has been translated into 35 languages and has been adapted into three movies and a TV series. In the virtual presentation, Chris will be discussing his newest release, “The Hour of the Witch,” a historical fiction novel set in Boston in 1662.

In the book, Mary Deerfield is 24. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary – a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony – soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary’s garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.

The program is free and open to all. It will be presented via Zoom. Registration is necessary to attend – register using the following link - bit.ly/3lTCPHR. For information, contact the La Salle Public Library at 815-223-2341, or email Rachael Blomquist at rblomquist@lasalle.lib.il.us or the Peru Library at eschaub@perulibary.org