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.

Publisher Description

Something wicked was brewing in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It started when two girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, began having hysterical fits. Soon after, other local girls claimed they were being pricked with pins. With no scientific explanation available, the residents of Salem came to one conclusion: it was witchcraft! Over the next year and a half, nineteen people were convicted of witchcraft and hanged while more languished in prison as hysteria swept the colony. Author Joan Holub gives readers and inside look at this sinister chapter in history.

This book offers a comprehensive record of legal documents written in 1692 and 1693 in connection with the Salem witch trials. It is the most comprehensive edition of those records ever published, and includes for the first time the records in chronological order, all newly transcribed from the original manuscripts

Salem Story engages the story of the Salem witch trials by contrasting an analysis of the surviving primary documentation with the way events of 1692 have been mythologised by our culture. Resisting the temptation to explain the Salem witch trials in the context of an inclusive theoretical framework, the book examines a variety of individual motives that converged to precipitate the witch-hunt. Of the many assumptions about the Salem witch trials, the most persistent is that they were instigated by a circle of hysterical girls. Through an analysis of what actually happened - by perusal of the primary materials with the 'close reading' approach of a literary critic - a different picture emerges, one where 'hysteria' inappropriately describes the logical, rational strategies of accusation and confession followed by the accusers, males and females alike.

A vivid account of the hysteria that enveloped Salem and of the 19 people who lost their lives as a result.

A village girl seeking friendship is swept up into the Salem Witch Trials in award-winning author Ann Rinaldi’s young adult novel, A Break with Clarity. Susanna English desperately wants to join the circle of girls who meet every week at the parsonage, but she doesn’t realize the leader of the group, the malicious Ann Putnam, is about to set off a torrent of false accusations that will lead to the imprisonment and execution of countless innocent people—victims of a witch-hunt panic. “A graceful blend of fiction and history, Rinaldi’s incisive and thoughtful narrative brings to life a dark period in America’s past.” —Publishers Weekly “The author’s skillful manipulation of the conventions of the young-adult novel—particularly the rich exploration of being an outsider and going against the mainstream—makes this book a superb vehicle for examining the social dynamics of this legendary event.” —The Horn Book “A Break with Charity portrays an excruciating era in American history from a unique perspective, and it will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy psychology, the supernatural, and history.” —School Library Journal Includes Reader’s Guide