Schiff does a great job of establishing the context of the witch trials, with the understanding of witchcraft and previous crises including a dramatically large one in Sweden in 1675. Over the course of time the crisis spirals out of Salem Village to Andover and Boston and threatens to undermine the economy and government of New England.
The psychological effects of the hysteria are laid clear in written accounts of the accused who actually came to believe that they may in fact be witches. The repetition of the process would be tedious if it weren’t so terrifying. Schiff relies on the official court transcripts for much of her narrative providing a relentless account of accusations, denials, questionable judicial practices, confessions, and further accusations. This is partially due to the efforts of those who lived through the crisis to erase the witch madness from the collective memory (for example, noted diarists of the period have blank spaces for the 9 months of the trials). Stacy Schiff attempts to set the record straight on the witch hysteria of 1692, something that has been defined for modern people by how it is depicted in movies, plays, and books. Publication Info: Little, Brown & Company (2015)
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