
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Katherine Howe
2009 · 371 pages · Historical fiction
How it reads
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is historical fiction (historical occult mystery, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a small town setting, in the historical past, told across two timelines. Its central concerns are family, identity and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 371 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something eerie
- you want a complete story in one book
- you want to be sure it ends well
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or heartwarming
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- historical fiction
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- established
- Setting: place
- small town
- Setting: time
- historical
- Mood / feeling
- eerie
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- dual timeline
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- well known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- The London Séance SocietySarah PennerShares: historical fiction, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- The Devil and Mrs. DavenportPaulette KennedyShares: historical fiction, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Witch of Willow HallHester FoxShares: historical fiction, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
FingersmithSarah WatersShares: historical fiction, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy HollowChristina HenryShares: historical fiction, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The distant hoursKate MortonShares: historical fiction, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
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