The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World

Book cover of The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World by Malcolm Gaskillby Malcolm Gaskill
@malcolmgaskill

A gripping story of a family tragedy brought about by witch-hunting in Puritan New England that combines history, anthropology, sociology, politics, theology and psychology.

In Springfield, Massachusetts in 1651, peculiar things begin to happen. Precious food spoils, livestock ails, property vanishes, and people suffer convulsions as if possessed by demons. A woman is seen wading through the swamp like a lost soul. Disturbing dreams and visions proliferate. Children sicken and die.

As tensions rise, rumours spread of witches and heretics and the community becomes tangled in a web of distrust, resentment and denunciation. The finger of suspicion soon falls on a young couple with two small children: the prickly brickmaker, Hugh Parsons, and his troubled wife, Mary.

Drawing on rich, previously unexplored source material, Malcolm Gaskill vividly evokes a strange past, one where lives were steeped in the divine and the diabolic, in omens, curses and enchantments. The Ruin of All Witches captures an entire society caught in agonized transition between superstition and enlightenment, tradition and innovation.

Show more
Show less

Interview with the Author

Podcast art for Not Just the TudorsNot Just the Tudors 
The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World
10/25/21         58 min

Podcast art for History ExtraHistory Extra 
A forgotten witch hunt in New England
1/4/22         39 min

Podcast art for Travels through Time Podcast from the BBCTravels Through Time 
Malcolm Gaskill: An Execution and a Witch (1649)
10/29/21           67 min

Buy on Amazon

Related books

Book cover for The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast by Andrew LipmanThe Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast Book cover of New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America by Wendy WarrenNew England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America Mutiny on the Rising Sun: A Tragic Tale of Slavery, Smuggling, and Chocolate Book cover of Devil-Land: England Under Siege, 1588-1688 by Clare JacksonDevil-Land: England Under Siege, 1588-1688 Book cover of God: An Anatomy by Francesca StavrakopoulouGod: An Anatomy 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*