Short Synopsis
From Marilynne K. Roach, a narrative that allows listeners to experience the history of the Salem witch trials through the eyes of those who lived it.

Full Synopsis
Six Women of Salem is the first work to use the lives of a select number of representative women as a microcosm to illuminate the larger crisis of the Salem witch trials. By the end of the trials, beyond the twenty who were executed and the five who perished in prison, two hundred and seven individuals had been accused, seventy four had been "afflicted," thirty two had officially accused their fellow neighbors, and two hundred and fifty five ordinary people had been inexorably drawn into that ruinous and murderous vortex, and this doesn't include the religious, judicial, and governmental leaders. All this adds up to what the Rev. Cotton Mather called "a desolation of names."

The individuals involved are too often reduced to stock characters and stereotypes when accuracy is sacrificed to indignation. And although the flood of names and detail in the history of an extraordinary event like the Salem witch trials can swamp the individual lives involved, individuals still deserve to be remembered, and, in remembering specific lives, modern audiences can benefit from such historical intimacy. By examining the lives of six specific women, Marilynne Roach shows listeners what it was like to be present throughout this horrific time and how it was impossible to live through it unchanged.

"Kate Reading does her usual excellent job reading the narrative with an evenness and clarity of voice." ---SoundCommentary

"Kate Reading is perfectly matched to the material. Her low-key style provides a genuine sense of intimacy." ---Library Journal Audio Review

"[Full of] the author's deep knowledge of virtually every man, woman and child affected by the trials in this bizarre period." ---Kirkus

"Roach animates information woven together from court records, trial notes, diaries, vital records, sermon notes, and family lore in a successful attempt to personalize [the women's] lives, drawing the reader away from commonly believed stereotypes and sensational folklore." ---Library Journal

"Reading creates an intimate mood that draws listeners into the lives of these women and their families as they were caught up in a travesty of justice that continues to fascinate." ---AudioFile