Synopses & Reviews
Between June 10 and September 22, 1692, nineteen people were hanged for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. One person was pressed to death, and over 150 others were jailed, where still others died. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials is a history of that event. It provides a much needed synthesis of the most recent scholarship on the subject, places the trials into the context of the Great European Witch-Hunt, and relates the events of 1692 to witch-hunting throughout seventeenth century New England.
This complex and difficult subject is covered in a uniquely accessible manner that captures all the drama that surrounded the Salem witch trials. From beginning to end, the reader is carried along by the author’s powerful narration and mastery of the subject. While covering the subject in impressive detail, Bryan Le Beau maintains a broad perspective on events, and wherever possible, lets the historical characters speak for themselves. Le Beau highlights the decisions made by individuals responsible for the trials that helped turn what might have been a minor event into a crisis that has held the imagination of students of American history.
Synopsis
This book provides a one volume narrative of Salem Witch Trials that combines scholarly research with a dramatic narrative. It places the trials into the historical context of the Great European Witch Hunt and of the social and cultural context of witch hunting in 17th century New England. The book presents events in a narrative format that delivers the drama of the trials and leaves readers free to explore specific topics of their choosing in greater depth through an analysis of key issues at the end of most chapters. It includes a chapter on the Great European Witch Hunt which puts the Salem Witch Trials into historical context as well as a chapter on witch hunting in 17th century New England which provides an immediate social and cultural context. MARKETS: A fascinating and relevant book for any reader who wishes to learn more about this much misunderstood event in early American history.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 288-296) and index.
Table of Contents
1. A Biography of a Terrible, but Perfectly Normal Superstition.
2. Having Familiarity with the Devil.
3. The Evil Hand is upon Them.
4. Is Not this a Brand Plucked from the Burning?
5. If They are Let Alone, We Should All be Devils and Witches.
6. God Will Deliver Us Out of the Hands of Unmerciful Men.
7. God Will Give You Blood to Drink.
8. What a Sad Thing it is to See Eight Firebrands of Hell Hanging There.
9. It were Better that Ten Suspected Witches Should Escape, than that One Innocent Person Should be Condemned.
10. Ruined in the Mistaken Mismanagement of the Terrible Affair Called Witchcraft.
Epilogue.
Notes.
A Select Bibliography.
Appendix.
Index.