The Witches
Salem, 1692
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2.9 • 164 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the #1 national bestseller Cleopatra unpacks the mystery of the Salem Witch Trials.
“The Witches is the fullest and finest story ever told about Salem in 1692, and no one else could tell it with the otherworldly flair of Stacy Schiff.” ―Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Quartet
It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister's daughter began to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before 19 men and women had been hanged and an elderly man crushed to death.
The panic spread quickly, involving the most educated men and prominent politicians in the colony. Neighbors accused neighbors, parents and children each other. Aside from suffrage, the Salem Witch Trials represent the only moment when women played the central role in American history. In curious ways, the trials would shape the future republic.
As psychologically thrilling as it is historically seminal, The Witches is Stacy Schiff's account of this fantastical story—the first great American mystery unveiled fully for the first time by one of our most acclaimed historians.
“Once again Stacy Schiff dazzles us. The Witches is a must read for anyone intrigued by this baffling and horrifying chapter from America's Puritan past. What Schiff uncovers is mesmerizing and shocking. Her meticulous research and lyrical writing lay bare an injustice that we should never forget-lest we repeat it.” ―Patricia Cornwell, author of True Crime and the Scarpetta novels
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
You may think you know all about the infamous Salem witch trials, but after just a few atmospheric, meticulously researched pages of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Stacy Schiff’s book, you’ll realize you’ve been kidding yourself. The Witches is a lyrical and absolutely riveting portrait of one of early America’s darkest chapters. We were wowed by Schiff’s discovery of so many haunting new details about a seemingly typical Puritan community that collapsed spectacularly in the face of abject fear, paranoid allegations, and unchecked religious fervor.
Customer Reviews
Painfully disorganized
Ms. Schiff first promises a new look, but delivers a thematically disorganized mess. Just as she reveals an interesting perspective, she then peals off inane details about minor characters in a pattern impossible to follow. She never begins a sentence without a long introductory clause to hide the true import of her sentence. The tedium drolls on until I cried, "no mas!" A rare book I didn't finish.
Too bad
Too bad this book wasn’t what I expected. Instead of the well researched point of view from a female perspective that the first few pages promised, the book morphed into a jumbled, confusing mess.
Very Good
Thoughtfully researched and beautiful prose to describe a fearful and shameful religious period of America.