The Witches: Salem, 1692

by Stacy Schiff

This 2015 book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Stacey Schiff is the most recent major publication on the subject of the Salem Witch Trials. To produce it, Schiff delved deep into the archives and reconstructs events as closely as possible, bringing a fresh eye and compelling writing style. “Her research is impeccable;” declared the New York Review of Books, “no previous writer has scoured the documentary record to such great depth. Moreover, she has mastered the entire history of early New England…. This enables her to provide deep, richly textured background for specific moments and situations.” At once a painstakingly detailed history and a thrilling narrative, The Witches: Salem, 1692 offers the obvious place to start for the interested general reader.