Chris' Fish Place

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.

                Like most American students, I learned about the Salem witch trials not though actual history class, but by reading a book. I wish I could say it was the Crucible by Arthur Miller that I read at such a young age but understood anyway.

                Nope, it was the Witch of Blackbird Pond.

                You haven’t read it. Shame on you.

                I also have vague, very vague memories of visiting Salem before reading the book, but there are so vague, I mostly just remember my father and my uncle talking.

                Like most students, I eventually learned more, though I can’t remember a time when they actually taught the witch trials, but learned about I eventually did. Then comes high school and the witch trials because McCarthyism. But then curiosity takes hold and you want to know about the actual history. So you start reading various theories, various books, and realize –

                Well, you realize many things. The past is at times, most of the time even, impossible to understand.   Undoubtedly a reason why so many books are being written.

                A Storm of Witchcraft presents the story of the Salem Witchcraft trials not only in historical context but Baker also looks at the impact the trials had, not just on the immediate society, but in New England as well as the American Revolution.

                Baker starts with the historical background of the colony and village, showcasing how not only the immediate makeup the village contributed to the trials but also other, more insidious, forces did. Perhaps it wasn’t the devil as the villagers saw him, but a form of the devil in the push and pull that eventually lead up to the trials.

                For much of the book, Baker’s language and writing is enough to carry the reader, though there are times when the reader flags – usually when discussions about how a town or village become its own entity (understandably needed information though), but overly the tone is engaging. Baker’s detailed analysis of time and place allows him to suggest other reasons then the most commonly heard ones. He looks at hysteria (and uses modern cases in comparison) and the suggestion of possible sexual assault. He also details Salem’s history with pastors and other religious men. He offers a good view of the “interrogations” that led to some of the confessions, showcasing how it was more than a simple questioning, even if questioning is all that occurred. In many ways, Baker makes a solid claim that Salem should be looked at as more than an allegorical device for Arthur Miller. He goes a good way to reclaiming the history for the country.