Description
Book SynopsisBy now everyone knows about Salem, yet in fact the witch trials thee are not typical of witchcraft incidents in Puritan New England. For this first book in the New Narratives in American History series, Godbeer focuses on the other witchcraft scare of 1692, this one near Stamford, Connecticut. The smaller-scale drama of Mercy Disborough's imprisonment and Katherine Branch's fits occupies center stage in a narrative account accessible to a broad audience.
Trade ReviewGodbeer's account of this entire process is a gripping narrative...the book succeeds brilliantly...compelling. Michael D. Bailey, Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft This is a lively, accessible and intelligent case study, closely informed by the scholarship of Keith Thomas, David Hall, Mary Beth Norton and John Demos, and building on Godbeer's own major work on the subject, The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England Amy M.E. Morris, American Studies, Volume 40
Table of ContentsForeword Prologue: "A Witch! A Witch!" 1. Katherine Branch's Fits 2. Who Is It That Torments Her? 3. "By The Law of God And The Law Of The Colony Thou Deservest To Die" 4. Angry Speeches And Strange Afflictions 5. Weighing The Evidence 6. "Persisting In A Non-Agreement" Afterword Select Bibliography
