The Devil Discovered

The Salem witch hunt of 1692 represents one of the grimmest events in early American history. It is the story of innocent people caught in a web of intrigue from which they could not extricate themselves. The author, himself a descendant of one of those executed, argues masterfully that the witch hunt was driven by conspiracies of envious men intent on destroying their enemies. Sanctioned by the old guard of Puritan leaders, these men arrested two hundred people for witchcraft, twenty-eight of whom were executed or died in prison. The convergence of religious, social, political, and economic forces that sparked the accusations and trials are laid out clearly and concisely, exploring the motives and relationships of those who fanned the flames of the witch hunt. Robinson also provides a closer look at the lives of seventy-five of the people accused as witches, analyzing their places in the community and shedding light on why they were targeted. Title of related interest also available from Waveland Edwards (Simonson, ed.), Selected Writings of Jonathan Edwards, Second Edition (ISBN 9781577663317).