Dry Tinder: A Tale of Rivalry and Injustice in Salem Village

Dry Tinder is a historical novel based on the true story of the Towne sisters—three innocent, godly women who are falsely accused of witchcraft in 1692. It offers a new perspective, as the narrative starts in 1670, a full 22 years before young girls begin accusing their elders of witchcraft. The trials are not a strange anomaly of history: Were the children possessed? Did witchcraft actually run rampant in Salem Village? Was it something strange that just … happened? Instead, told through the perspective of Sarah Towne, the story becomes personal. The hysteria grows from the extreme polarization and struggles of the Salem Village people at the time, including boundary disputes, the harsh judgment of their Puritan faith, wars with the native tribes, and the sometimes troubled relationship between the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Mother England.

Speaker Janice Thompson is a writer and co-founder of Harpswell News, a new nonprofit launched in 2021 to publish the monthly Harpswell Anchor newspaper. She is a lover of local history and fascinating, character-driven stories. She served as a board member and then president of the board of trustees at the Framingham History Center before moving to Maine in 2017.

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