A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials

by Laurie Winn Carlson

Overview

This new interpretation of the New England Witch Trials offers an innovative, well-grounded explanation of witchcraft's link to organic illness. While most historians have concentrated on the accused, Laurie Winn Carlson focuses on the afflicted. Systematically comparing the symptoms recorded in colonial diaries and court records to those of the encephalitis epidemic in the early twentieth century, she argues convincingly that the victims suffered from the same disease. A unique blend of historical epidemiology and sociology. -Katrina L. Kelner, Science. Meticulously researched...the author marshalls her arguments with clarity and persuasive force. -New Yorker

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566633390
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	07/20/1999
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	215
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Laurie Winn Carlson has written frequently on the history of the West, including Cattle: An Informal Social History; Seduced by the West; Sidesaddles to Heaven; and Boss of the Plains. She lives in Cheney, Washington.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Preface xiii
Part 2 The Witch Craze in Seventeenth-century New England 3
Part 3 The Afflicted 9
Part 4 The Response 38
Part 5 Mental Illness and the Persecution of Witches 61
Part 6 The Forgotten Epidemic 76
Part 7 What Happened at Salem? 114
Part 8 Alternative Outcomes 147
Part 9 Could Encephalitis Lethargica Return? 157
Part 10 Afterword: Satanic Possession and Christian Beliefs 157
Part 11 Chronology 159
Part 12 Statistical Appendix 167
Part 13 Notes 171
Part 14 Bibliography 183
Part 15 Index 189

What People are Saying About This

Garnett

What an intriguing hypothesis!
— author of The Coming Plague

Editorial Reviews

A unique blend of historical epidemiology and sociology.
— Science Magazine

Katrina L. Kelner

Meticulously researched...the author marshalls her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.

New Yorker

Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.
—New Yorker

John Banville

Ms. Carlson writes well, at times, even humorously.
— Atlantic Monthly

Adams

A fascinating, refreshing reassessment of one of the most bizarre episodes in American history.

A-List

Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations.
— The Seattle Times

McMichael

A medical mystery that will intrigue both the epidemiologist-historian detectives and the lay reader.

Robert S. Desowitz

Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.

The New Yorker - John Banville

Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations.

The Seattle Times - Barbara Lloyd McMichael

What an intriguing hypothesis!

Laurie Garrett

Provocative, informative, and dramatic...packed with epidemiological evidence and studded with convincing figures and maps.

Providence Journal - Nan Sumner-Mack

A fascinating, refreshing reassessment of one of the most bizarre episodes in American history.

The A-List

Ms. Carlson writes well, at times, even humorously.

Atlantic Monthly - Phoebe-Lou Adams

Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.
— John Banville

The New Yorker

Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations.
— Barbara Lloyd McMichael

The Seattle Times

Provocative, informative, and dramatic...packed with epidemiological evidence and studded with convincing figures and maps.
— Nan Sumner-Mack

Providence Journal

Ms. Carlson writes well, at times, even humorously.
— Phoebe-Lou Adams

Atlantic Monthly

Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations.
— Barbara Lloyd McMichael

Seattle Times