A Break with Charity

= "A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials" (ISBN 0-15-204682-8) is a novel by Ann Rinaldi released in 1992, and is part of the "Great Episodes" series.

infobox Book |
name = A Break with Charity
title_orig =


author = Ann Rinaldi
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Great Episodes
genre = Historical Fiction
publisher = Gulliver Books
release_date = 15 September 1992
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 272 pp (1st HB)
isbn = ISBN 0152003533 (1st HB)
preceded_by = A Ride into Morning
followed_by = The Fifth of March =

Fictional and Historical Characters in the Novel

The author of A Break With Charity uses fictional and historical characters both in order to better relate the story of the Salem Witch Trials. Susanna English, for instance, is a fictional observer: she is the narrator telling the story of the Witch Trials from both inside and outside of the proceedings. She interacts with historical characters, but did not in fact exist. Her parents, Mary and Philip English did, and were considered the richest people in Salem. They were both arrested separately, but they were given more privileges in jail. In the novel, the Englishes (excluding Susanna) fled Salem, leaving Susanna and her sister, Mary, with Joseph and Elizabeth Putnam, aunt and uncle of Ann Putnam. In the end the accuser of the with hunt pleads forgivness and is in turn forgave for her wrong past.

Historical personages featured within the novel include the twenty men and women executed for witchcraft; see The Salem Witch Trials for a full list. Additionally, Betty Parris (Reverend Parris' daughter) and Tituba also existed. The Procters, Putnams, and Parrises were all important historical figures in the history of the Witch Trials.