The Salem witch trials : a day-by-day chronicle of a community under siege /

Roach's well-documented book draws from contemporary trial accounts, bills, letters, deeds, almanacs, and other original documents, 1692-97, the period of the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. The book intends to serve as a new way of exploring the witch trials and to move away from the speculations, historical analysis, and stereotyping that have characterized the study of the trials. The book includes hand-drawn maps and an introduction that sets forth the study's approach, outlines the beliefs about witches and witchcraft in Salem at the time, and situates the witch trials in Salem's political life. The well-written text is formatted much like a diary of excerpted, paraphrased, and quoted documentation, arranged in chronological order with headings by place. An epilogue discusses the aftermath of the trials and summarizes historical debates. Several appendixes list the accused, the victims, church membership, and petitioners for the accused. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduates. G. Wood SUNY College at Cortland

The Salem witch trials of 1692-1693 remain one of the enigmas of American history. How did the witchcraft hysteria come about? Did the imaginations of the townspeople run wild so that they viewed unneighborly acts as an evil threat promulgated by Satan's minions? Roach (In the Days of the Salem Witchcraft Trial) answers these and other questions in her monumental daily chronology of the trial years. She introduces her account with an exhaustive narrative history of the Salem community from 1661 to 1691. With workmanlike precision, she provides historical details-such as the conflicts between church congregations and ministers and the increasing frequency of Indian attacks-as she contends that the hysteria arose most likely from the political, religious and social turmoil of the time. Using newly available diaries, journals and letters, Roach then reconstructs, for the first time, daily life during the height of the witch trials as well as accounts of court proceedings, arrests and suspects' confessions. In an epilogue, Roach shows that, just a decade after the trials, preachers sought repentance for the injustices done and that the desire to right the wrongs of the trials lasted well into the 19th century. Roach's detailed reference book provides deep insights into the trial years by letting us listen to the voices of everyone involved. 35 b&w illus. and maps. (Oct.) Forecasts: Roach's book will provide a nice companion to Mary Beth Norton's In the Devil's Snare (Forecasts, July 1), also being released in October; booksellers who display them together may see increased sales. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved