Emerson W. Baker

If you, like so many others, have become fascinated by this bizarre, bitter and ultimately tragic episode in American history, you may be interested in the books about the Salem Witch Trials that we have highlighted below—from Arthur Miller’s iconic 1953 play The Crucible to a recent illuminating work of narrative nonfiction. The Witches: Salem, 1692 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.

If you, like so many others, have become fascinated by this bizarre, bitter and ultimately tragic episode in American history, you may be interested in the books about the Salem Witch Trials that we have highlighted below—many of which have been recommended to us by our expert interviewees. If you are completely new to the subject, we suggest starting with this straight-forward Smithsonian summary article before moving on to the book-length histories.

Peer into one of the darkest chapters of American history… Spanning just over a year from 1692 to 1693, the Salem witch trials had a lasting impact on political and spiritual thought, legal practice, and popular culture in the United States—to the extent that historian George Lincoln Burr once called the event “the rock on which the theocracy shattered.” In what remains the deadliest witch hunt in the history of America, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft; at least 19 were hanged...