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Title details for Six Women of Salem by Marilynne K. Roach - Wait list

Six Women of Salem

The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials

by Marilynne K. Roach
Kate Reading
Audiobook
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Six Women of Salem is the first work to use the lives of a select number of representative women as a microcosm to illuminate the larger crisis of the Salem witch trials. By the end of the trials, beyond the twenty who were executed and the five who perished in prison, two hundred and seven individuals had been accused, seventy four had been "afflicted," thirty two had officially accused their fellow neighbors, and two hundred and fifty five ordinary people had been inexorably drawn into that ruinous and murderous vortex, and this doesn't include the religious, judicial, and governmental leaders. All this adds up to what the Rev. Cotton Mather called "a desolation of names."

The individuals involved are too often reduced to stock characters and stereotypes when accuracy is sacrificed to indignation. And although the flood of names and detail in the history of an extraordinary event like the Salem witch trials can swamp the individual lives involved, individuals still deserve to be remembered, and, in remembering specific lives, modern audiences can benefit from such historical intimacy. By examining the lives of six specific women, Marilynne Roach shows listeners what it was like to be present throughout this horrific time and how it was impossible to live through it unchanged.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 17, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781494520403
      • File size: 493882 KB
      • Duration: 17:08:55

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Kate Reading guides listeners through this carefully documented record of the trials of six women--accused and accusers--who were central to the Salem witch trials. The first part of the book is background regarding the six women and their status in their communities, as well as a chronology of events. Although the first part of the content is a bit tedious, it sets up the second part, which focuses on the trials, and Reading keeps the pace moving. The descriptions of the periods of imprisonment and the trials are a bit more lively. Reading creates an intimate mood that draws listeners into the lives of these women and their families as they were caught up in a travesty of justice that continues to fascinate. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 21, 2013
      Roach (The Salem Witch Trials) makes history more accessible in her latest book on the infamous mass hysteria that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692â1693, resulting in the executions of 20 supposed "witches," and the accusations of about 200. Roach successfully constructs first-person narratives from the perspectives of six real Salem womenâboth accusers and accused. This style of narrative provides an intimacy with the Salem people without feeling too fictionalized or overdone. Roach draws on a number of primary and secondary documents to illuminate every detail of the Salem witch trials, while duly paying respect to the victims of these horrific trials. She lays out the facts, but avoids speculation or further analysis. This book is easily digestible even for those who stray away nonfiction, yet readers still reap the benefits of Roach's thorough researched and expertise on the subject.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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