Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt

by Bernard Rosenthal (General Editor)

This book represents the first comprehensive record of all legal documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials, in chronological order. Numerous newly discovered manuscripts, as well as records published in earlier books that were overlooked in other editions, offer a comprehensive narrative account of the events of 1692-93, with supplementary materials stretching as far as the mid - 18th century. The book may be used as a reference book or read as an unfolding narrative. All legal records are newly transcribed, and errors in previous editions have been corrected. Included in this edition is a historical introduction, a legal introduction, and a linguistic introduction. Manuscripts are accompanied by notes that, in many cases, identify the person who wrote the record. This has never been attempted, and much is revealed by seeing who wrote what, when.

Genres: History, Witches, Nonfiction, Religion, Reference, Biography, Anthropology

1012 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Bernard Rosenthal is Professor Emeritus at Binghamton University where he specialized in American culture, literature and history. He is an internationally known scholar, formerly a Fulbright scholar, and he has written numerous books and articles. In addition to his publications he has given many talks including at Cornell University, The Modern Language Association, The Melville Society and various others in America. Overseas, he has given talks in London, Edinburgh in Scotland. In Finland, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, he has spoken at Tampere University and Helsinki University. He has also spoken at conferences in Bamberg, Germany and Tallinn, Estonia, as well as elsewhere.

In America he was the key advisor to Lone Wolf Productions in its television show on the Salem Witch Trials, and was a participant on the program. He has also appeared on Minnesota Public Radio.

During the child abuse panic beginning in the 90’s he explored what connects and what doesn’t to the Salem Witch Trials, and he served on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Reason and Justice, a nonprofit organization for wrongfully accused and imprisoned people. It was in that capacity where he first learned of the wrongful conviction of Joseph Allen and Nancy Smith and then began his exploration of the case, deciding to write a book on it.

Reviews

[S.A. Sizemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential for anyone studying the Salem Witch Trials