Friday Reads The Witches

isbn9781474602242With Halloween coming we are delighted to share with you an extract from the forthcoming The Witches, out on the 29th October from our sister imprint W&N. While this is a little bit of a different read for the blog, we know fans of US History will be interested in this stunning new book. The Witches explores one of the great mysteries of American history: the Salem witch trials.

It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister’s daughter started to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before nineteen men and women had been hanged and an elderly man crushed to death. The panic spread quickly, involving the most educated men and prominent politicians in the colony. Neighbours accused neighbours, parents accused children, husbands accused wives, children accused their parents, and siblings each other . . .

You can read the first chapter below.

 

The Witches by Stacy Schiff Extract by Orion Publishing Group

The Witches is out in hardback and eBook on the 29th October.