Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community under Siege
Based on twenty-seven years of original archival research, including the discovery of previously unknown documents, this day-by-day narrative of the hysteria that swept through Salem Village in 1692 and 1693 reveals new connections behind the events, and shows how rapidly a community can descend into bloodthirsty madness. Roach opens her work with chapters on the history of the Puritan colonies of New England, and explains how these people regarded the metaphysical and the supernatural. The...
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The Salem Witch Trials is based on over twenty-five years of archival research—including the author's discovery of previously unknown documents—newly found cases and court records. From January 1692 to January 1697 this history unfolds a nearly day-by-day narrative of the crisis as the citizens of New England experienced it. Publishers Weekly 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. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
MapsviiProloguexiiiIntroductionxvPart I16921January32February123March244April645May1036June1547July1898August2199September26010October30611November32812December340Part II169313January35914February37315March38516April39617May40018June40519July41020August41521September41922October42623November43124December435Part III169425January44126February44427March44628April44929May45230June45431July45832August46233September46534October46835November47036December475Part IV169537January47938February48339March48840April49141May49442June49843July50144August50345September50646October50947November51148December512Part V169649January51750February51951March52252April52453May52854June53155July53456August53757September54058October54359November54560December547Part VI169761January555Epilogue559Appendixes589Appendix A591Appendix B609Appendix C613Appendix D615Appendix E619Endnotes623Bibliography675Index695Acknowledgments711About the Author713
\ Denver PostRoach worked on this fascinating chronicle more than 25 years. She tells exactly what happened at the time, based on tons of documents and court testimony.\ \ \ \ \ BooklistReaders will come away with a much fuller pitcure of who lived in Salem and how they lived...This intriguing book offers an understanding of history that will be helpful to those studying colonial Massachusetts and of course, the notorious trials.\ \ \ Richard B. TraskRoach's new and exciting book is a marvelous compendium of well-thought-out insights, multiple facts, and little-known details on the events of the infamous 1692 Salem Village witchcraft. Her work, arranged in a day-by-day chronology, allows the reader to visualize how these events began and progressed to become the most massive witchcraft outbreak in America. It is an important addition to the literature of New England witchcraft.\ \ \ \ \ Peabody Essex Museum Collections[A] truly impressive day-by-day compendium on the course of the Salem witchcraft trials. This will be an invaluable aid to the scholarship on this pivotal episode in American history.\ \ \ \ \ Benjamin C. RayThe most complete day-by-day account of the Salem witch trials ever written. [Roach has created] a fascinating chronicle of the witchcraft episode and its long aftermath, filled with revealing social and psychological detail, accurately and gracefully written. A compelling read.\ \ \ \ \ Frances HillThis fascinating, deeply researched day-by-day account of the events of 1692 to 1697 is an extraordinarily valuable resource for any student of the Salem witch trials.\ \ \ \ \ Alison D'AmarioWhat an accomplishment! Marilynne Roach tells the story with rare detail and deep understanding. Her scholarship and sensibility make The Salem Witch Trials an invaluable must-have for those interested in the trials and the times. Reading her work is almost like being there. Outstanding.\ \ \ \ \ CHOICEThe well-written text is formatted much like a diary of excerpted, paraphrased, and quoted documentation.\ \ \ \ \ Books and CultureMarilynne K. Roach's The Salem Witch Trials is representative of this ongoing interest: her "day-by-day chronicle" will find a place on the shelves of researchers and history buffs for whom the fascination of Salem never palls.\ \ \ \ \ La TimesUseful, rigorous and historiographically current reference work.\ \ \ \ \ Gainesville Daily RegisterThis book is a good reference for understanding why the accusations occured...\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyThe 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. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \
