Help on Baroque Era Novel!

Welcome Emily. We're always happy to help out fellow historians. If you tell us some of your ideas we'll give some suggestions to ensure your book's historically accurate as a whole forum will provide much better feedback than just one beta reader

Thanks for letting me know. It was supposed to be my signature, but I can't seem to change it. 

Well, I have some ideas as to what I'll come up with. My idea started when as I stated above with reading those two books, plus watching the Cartoon Network DC Nation block with my younger brother on Saturday mornings. Anyway, here's what I (sort of?) have come up with so far:

• I have a character who is a Scottish laird (how cliche!) who happens to lose all his money and his estates. I wasn't sure if it should be because he and his family are suspected "witchbreed" (aka superhuman/meta-human/mutants/etc) or because they're Jacobites, or both. Part of me wants them to lose it early so they can go to the colonies and be awesome, but a part of me wants it to be alter and have them Jacobeans and traverse across Europe! What is a writer to do...
• Also, what is a better choice for a superhero who gained his/her powers through experimentation: being an alchemist or a natural philosopher? 
• I'm also planning on putting characters in that have otherworldly connections, i.e. being related to mythical beings. There is one heroine in particular in comics canon that is an Amazon, but would Amazons work in this setting? I was thinking of having a character like her being more in line with the Tuatha De Danann.
  
• Also, how would one with really, really obvious powers live in such a time, and still have a normal life without being a hermit?

I know, a lot of questions! But hopefully you can help me sort them all out. :)

Most superhero books are too American-centred. It would be cool if you restored the balance by setting the majority of the story in Europe. I like the idea of a superhero from an alchemist background gaining his powers from experiments and studying forbidden arts (similar to Marlow's Dr Faustus). In time, he might see it as a curse as he struggles to retain his humanity

Thomas Ady's reply to James' demonology:
http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=witch;cc=witch;view=toc;subview=short;idno=wit002

How would one with really, really obvious powers live in such a time, and still have a normal life without being a hermit?

There are many options here: if your character was very rich and powerful nobody would dare persecute him. He might have the king's protection: as an entertainer, adviser, or bodyguard. One of your mutants might be a general, explorer or spy, using his powers to serve King William and gaining fame for his bravery.

For lower-status mutants, the obvious option would be to mingle with other outcasts: Gypsies, Jews, criminals and beggars. They might perform at fairs as part of a travelling show, live in the most dangerous parts of London (known as "rookeries"), or turn to crime to survive: a particularly strong or cunning mutant would be a valuable addition to any pirate crew