The Witches: Salem, 1692

Written by Stacy Schiff
Review by Douglas Kemp

This is a very detailed and erudite account of the infamous witchcraft frenzy which afflicted the small village of Salem, Massachusetts and then some neighbouring settlements in the first half of 1692.  Schiff provides a full narrative of the known and assessed events, combined with full background explanation and analysis, to provide a readable and comprehensive history of those dark days. There are various theories about why the whole bizarre episode happened, and Schiff discusses in detail the context of the times, showing how the apparent demonic persecution and subsequent prosecutions were not so egregious in the most peculiar world of the Puritan colony in the late 17^th century.  Schiff gives a balanced and insightful analysis of where the blame most probably lies for the whole imbroglio; in particular, the role and capability of the mostly teenaged female accusers are discussed intelligently and fairly.

One issue is that although there are generous footnotes, they are only listed at the back of the book, with no reference in the text – this means the engaged reader will need to keep flipping back and forth to check if a particular point has an associated footnote; an odd omission.