Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall

In 1692 Puritan Samuel Sewall sent twenty people to their deaths on trumped-up witchcraft charges. The nefarious witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts represent a low point of American history, made famous in works by Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne (himself a descendant of one of the judges), and Arthur Miller. The trials might have doomed Sewall to infamy except for a courageous act of contrition now commemorated in a mural that hangs beneath the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House picturing Sewall's public repentance. He was the only Salem witch judge to make amends.

But, remarkably, the judge's story didn't end there. Once he realized his error, Sewall turned his attention to other pressing social issues. Struck by the injustice of the New England slave trade, a commerce in which his own relatives and neighbors were engaged, he authored "The Selling of Joseph," America's first antislavery tract. While his peers viewed Native Americans as savages, Sewall advocated for their essential rights and encouraged their education, even paying for several Indian youths to attend Harvard College. Finally, at a time when women were universally considered inferior to men, Sewall published an essay affirming the fundamental equality of the sexes. The text of that essay, composed at the deathbed of his daughter Hannah, is republished here for the first time.

In Salem Witch Judge, acclaimed biographer Eve LaPlante, Sewall's great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter, draws on family lore, her ancestor's personal diaries, and archival documents to open a window onto life in colonial America, painting a portrait of a man traditionally vilified, but who was in fact an innovator and forefather who came to represent the best of the American spirit.

“Insightful...a reformative, assenting spin on Salems hellfire and brimstone history.” Kirkus Reviews

An intriguing journey into a world as far away as colonial America - and yet as close as the human heart. Christian Science Monitor

“LaPlantes splendid biography brings a personal touch to Sewalls story and his efforts to take the difficult but righteous path.” Publishers Weekly

LaPlantes touching biography seems hauntingly timely. Beneath the sensational title is a figure more familiar than we realize. New York Times Book Review

In 1692, twenty people were sent to their deaths in Salem, Massachusetts, convicted of the charge of witchcraft. A Puritan named Samuel Sewell was one of those who condemned the innocent victims.

Sewell might have remained a footnote in history, had he not publicly repented his actions; he was the only Salem witch judge to do so. Sewell went on to become a progressive voice in New England, speaking out against slavery, in favor of the rights and education of Native Americans, and arguing for the equality of women and men. In Salem Witch Judge, Eve LaPlante, acclaimed biographer and descendant of Sewall, paints a portrait of a man who overcame his intolerance to represent the best of the American spirit.

Eve LaPlante, a direct descendant of Samuel Sewall (6th-great-granddaughter), has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. She has written for The Atlantic, New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal, Gourmet, and Boston Magazine. Her previous books, Seized and American Jezebel (a biography of Anne Hutchinson, LaPlante's 12th-generation ancestor), were published to critical acclaim. She lives with her husband and four children in Massachusetts.

"LaPlante's touching biography of Samuel Sewall, who condemned 20 people to death on witchcraft charges, seems hauntingly timely. Beneath the sensational title is a figure more familiar than we realize. Salem Witch Judge upends popular stereotypes about Puritans; it also reminds us how quickly the conventional wisdom can shift, forcing even the powerful to move. In the wake of crisis and fear, at least one leader's admission of failure actually helped him expand the circle of grace."

- New York Times Book Review

--Kirkus Reviews

Eve LaPlante, a sixth great-granddaughter of Samuel Sewall, is the author of two previous critically acclaimed books: American Jezebel, a biography of her ancestor Anne Hutchinson, and Seized, a narrative portrait of temporal lobe epilepsy. LaPlante has degrees from Princeton and Harvard and has written for The Atlantic, the New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal, and Boston magazine. She lives with her family in New England on land once owned by Judge Sewall.