Salem Possessed - The Social Origins of Witchcraft (Paperback, Revised)

Tormented girls writhing in agony, stern judges meting out harsh verdicts, nineteen bodies swinging on Gallows Hill. The stark immediacy of what happened in 1692 has obscured the complex web of human passion, individual and organized, which had been growing for more than a generation before the witch trials. Salem Possessed explores the lives of the men and women who helped spin that web and who in the end found themselves entangled in it. From rich and varied sources-many previously neglected or unknown-Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum give us a picture of the events of 1692 more intricate and more fascinating than any other in the already massive literature on Salem. "Salem Possessed," wrote Robin Briggs in The Times Literary Supplement, "reinterprets a world-famous episode so completely and convincingly that virtually all the previous treatments can be consigned to the historical lumber-room." Not simply a dramatic and isolated event, the Salem outbreak has wider implications for our understanding of developments central to the American experience: the breakup of Puritanism, the pressures of land and population in New England towns, the problems besetting farmer and householder, the shifting role of the church, and the powerful impact of commercial capitalism.

General

Imprint:	Harvard University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	1976
First published:	1976
Authors:	Paul Boyer • Stephen Nissenbaum
Dimensions:	210 x 140 x 17mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	256
Edition:	Revised
ISBN-13:	978-0-674-78526-7
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Magic, alchemy & hermetic thought Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Witchcraft Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Magic, alchemy & hermetic thought Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Witchcraft
LSN:	0-674-78526-6
Barcode:	9780674785267

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!