Esther Forbes

author

Esther Forbes

1891–1967

Best known for bringing early America vividly to life, this Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and historian wrote with a rare gift for making the past feel immediate and human. Her books, especially for younger readers, blend careful research with memorable storytelling.

1 Audiobook

A mirror for witches : in which is reflected the life, machinations, and death of famous Doll Bilby, who, with a more than feminine perversity, preferred a demon to a mortal lover; here is also told how and why a righteous and most awfull judgement befell her, destroying both corporeal body and immortal soul

A mirror for witches : in which is reflected the life, machinations, and death of famous Doll Bilby, who, with a more than feminine perversity, preferred a demon to a mortal lover; here is also told how and why a righteous and most awfull judgement befell her, destroying both corporeal body and immortal soul

by Esther Forbes

About the author

Born in Westborough, Massachusetts, in 1891, Esther Forbes grew up in a family deeply interested in New England history. She became an American novelist, historian, and children's writer whose work focused on colonial and Revolutionary-era life, often with a strong sense of place and character.

Her best-known books include Paul Revere and the World He Lived In, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History, and Johnny Tremain, the much-loved novel that received the Newbery Medal. Those honors reflect what made her work stand out: she combined serious historical research with clear, lively writing that invited readers into the everyday world of the past.

Forbes died in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1967. She remains especially admired for helping generations of readers see early American history not as distant facts, but as the lived experience of real people.