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

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9781566633093

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Reviews

This book will send historians and epidemiologists scurrying back to the drawing board.--Katrina L. Kelner

Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations. -- Barbara Lloyd McMichael The Seattle Times A fascinating, refreshing reassessment of one of the most bizarre episodes in American history. The A-List What an intriguing hypothesis! -- Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague This book will send historians and epidemiologists scurrying back to the drawing board. -- Katrina L. Kelner, Editor, Science Magazine Ms. Carlson writes well, at times, even humorously. -- Phoebe-Lou Adams Atlantic Monthly Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force. -- John Banville The New Yorker Provocative, informative, and dramatic...packed with epidemiological evidence and studded with convincing figures and maps. -- Nan Sumner-Mack Providence Journal A medical mystery that will intrigue both the epidemiologist-historian detectives and the lay reader. -- Robert S. Desowitz, Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina and author of Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria?

Author Information

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.

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