Marilynne K. Roach

I really wanted to like this more, & I was intrigued by the author's decision to meld fictional accounts of the women along with the primary & secondary source material. In the end, I don't feel that it worked. The factual segments were far too detailed and dry, & there wasn't enough of the fictional bits. In the end, it reads as 2 separate books which were unnaturally combined. To be honest, I had anticipated the opposite being true, but the writer did a marvellous job with the fictional show more accounts. show less

Absolutely fascinating. The sheer amount of research in here must have taken a lifetime of work from the author. Roach manages to bring the townships, hamlets and all their population to life. I can honestly say that I have never read anything so deeply researched that brings the era alive in all its frightening glory. Resentments and squabbles between the townsfolk resulted in many people, some of them devoted, old folk being brought to trial for witchcraft. The way these people are dealt show more with is frightening from the speed of prosecution to the gullibility of the jury. An horrific and tragic period of American history seems to play out before the readers eyes as Roach describes each persecutor, accuser and accused in chilling detail. If you have any interest in the Salem witch trials at all, read this book. I am in awe of Roach's research skills. show less

The accused and the accusers

Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials by Marilynne K. Roach (Da Capo Press, $18.99)

I’ve read a number of histories of the Salem witch trials—not to mention an equal number of literary works that addressed the accusation and trials—over the years. Some examine the rise of religious tribalism as a response to the presence of non-Puritan religious groups nearby; some take a feminist look at the power show more structure; I recall one that looked at the connections between property ownership by women and which women were accused of witchcraft and several that examined Salem through the perspective of other historical outbreaks of mass hysteria.

As for literary approaches, I’ve read everything from Arthur Miller’s famous parable about paranoia to several novels that take for their premise the presence of actual witches/demons (but not among the accused, usually!), and a recent book that suggested an outbreak of ergot poisoning to explain the witch hunt.

What Marilynne K. Roach has done is narrow the focus to only six members of the community, women who number among the accused and the “victims” of witchcraft. This allows readers to see some subtle differences in their places in the community and the various stressors on them. She also adds first-person narration, constructed from what she imagines the women in question to have experienced. This could be dicey—and it certainly presumes an ability to shed contemporary bias—but it works, and makes this an interesting addition to the books available on this historical chapter.

(Published on Lit/Rant on 1/26/2014: http://litrant.tumblr.com/post/74597590554/the-accused-and-the-accusers-six-wome... show less

I love knowing the facts along with the fiction. Six Women of Salem is written in this fun way. We follow the history of six of the women inundated with the trials, Tituba, Rebecca Nurse, Ann Putnam, Mary Warren, Bridget Bishop and Mary English.
I loved that there were bits of fiction mixed in with the historical facts in this book. Marilynne took the liberty to write the women's thoughts at certain points to intersect with the historical records. A lot of research was done for this book from show more the remaining records. This was insightful and intriguing, seeing quotes from the accused, accusers and judges. I knew some of the political troubles that might have spurred some accusations, but this book goes farther into personal squabbles, religious issues, war, women's rights, racial issues and possible physiological issues that might have spurred the hysteria. I was really interested in the story of Tituba; the historical records are quite different than most fictional accounts. Overall, a great historical record of the Salem Witch Trials for anyone who would like to dig deeper into the subject. show less