Death in Salem: The Private Lives Behind the 1692 Witch Hunt

by Diane E Foulds

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Book cover for Death in Salem

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The first book to explore the tragic personal lives of the leading players in Salem's witchcraft frenzy *** Salem witchcraft will always have a magnetic pull on the American psyche. During the 1692 witch trials, more than 150 people were arrested. An estimated 25 million Americans--including author Diane Foulds--are descended from the twenty individuals executed. What happened to our ancestors? "Death in Salem" is the first book to take a clear-eyed look at this complex time, by examining the lives of the witch trial participants from a personal perspective. Massachusetts settlers led difficult lives; every player in the Salem drama endured hardships barely imaginable today. Mercy Short, one of the "bewitched" girls, watched as Indians butchered her parents; Puritan minister Cotton Mather outlived all but three of his fifteen children. Such tragedies shaped behavior and, as Foulds argues, ultimately played a part in the witch hunt's outcome. A compelling "who's who" to Salem witchcraft, "Death in Salem" profiles each of these historical personalities as it asks: Why was this person targeted?
  • ISBN10 0762766409
  • ISBN13 9780762766406
  • Publish Date 6 August 2013 (first published 3 August 2010)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
  • Imprint Globe Pequot Press
  • Format eBook
  • Pages 288
  • Language English