Shane Phillips
asked:
Is this a historically accurate book? Noticed that some say it is "Fantasy", or "Fiction"
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The Witches: Salem, 1692,
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Steven Belanger
It seems exhaustively researched and detailed to me. Also researched were everyone involved, their writings, their motivations, etc. I found it very dense, but in a good way. Loved it! Yes, its winds are all-enveloping, but they never spun out of control, and they revolved around a very specific and defined eye. I started a novel based on the Elizabeth Colson passage. Tries to ground the hysteria in a what-it-must-have-felt-like fashion, for everyone involved. Paints images and stays away from dryness, and attempts to personalize the names on the old, dusty pages. I gave it 5 stars and I'm sorry I couldn't give it more.
Sharon Miller
This is a non-fiction work of History. Any equivocation on that point is a speculative journey into genre that seems to betray a good understanding of what fiction and non-fiction are. Most works of history cross over into literary constructions, that is how narrative works, but that doesn't mean it is fiction. While it has been unfavorably reviewed in many places, including the New York Times, many prominent historians admired this book.
Rachel
While no historian can say with certainty exactly ALL the things that happened and all the perspectives surrounding a particular event, Stacy Schiff did an incredible amount of research with primary source documents and court records to write as accurate a time-line as possible. She herself, however, mentions that major players sanitized their roles in this drama and as such, we must take all information with a critical eye.
Sara
It is historically inaccurate and misleading. The research is extremely shallow and the book adds nothing to the body of knowledge regarding the witch trials. It contains too many errors and focuses on retelling the bizarre accusations recorded at the time (all trial transcripts were destroyed) and the same rationalizations the perpetrators wrote over 300 years ago.
Sarah
There is an incredible amount of people who can't tell the difference between a work of fiction and a history, and routinely label histories as fiction (I've seen it on other history books)- so it may have the fantasy tag just because of that. The book is well researched, with a variety of sources.
Bobbi
Considering no one that is alive today was there, we really have no clue. Ms. Schiff went by journals and other works but who is to say really? I don't think I would go as far as marking it fiction, but then they may have meant that it's fiction since none of the women who were executed for witchcraft were actually proven to be witches, even posthumously.
Nic Ramos
i think historical fiction is a fair categorization. Despite the fact that many of the details in the book are true, everything in it cannot be guaranteed as accurate.
John Schoenig
It is a very detailed historical account. With all the person's involved in the events, it can be a little overwhelming in that regard. But, there was interesting information to glean from it and I, ultimately. enjoyed it.
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