Six Women of Salem

The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials

By: Marilynne K. Roach

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

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 20 who were executed and the five who perished in prison, 207 individuals had been accused, 74 had been "afflicted", 32 had officially accused their fellow neighbors, and 255 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.

©2013 Marilynne K. Roach (P)2014 Tantor

Robotic Reader

Very factual & interesting, without a lot of political propaganda, (mild siding with American Indians over Whites in the war and needless mentioning that she is opposed to slavery -- of course! No need to emphasize that!) but marred by the Alexa-like reader. More feeling and a variety in tone is needed. She also reads V E R Y S L O W L Y. I dealt with this by increasing the playback speed.

Great mix of historical accounts and fiction

My one hang up with this book is that the narrator is probably THE SLOWEST READER EVER! You have to amp it up to at least 1.3x speed. She’s a little bland as well. But aside from that if you’re interested in history this is an infesting read.

history in story

really enjoyed listening and hearing the perspectives of those on trial. like you were there.

Well delivered- excellent content

The story of the Salem witch trials is a story of human frailty- the desire to side with the emotional over rational. Excellent book - superb narrative. Well worth the time.

There is a LOT of conjecture in this book

Granted, the author mentions when she is engaging in conjecture, but she does an awful lot of it. It disappointed me because I was expecting a straight history, but there is a lot of "perhaps," "maybe," "presumably," and "lost to history" in work. It's not a bad book, just not advertised as what it is.

Brilliant Story

The way the author presents the historical material is incredible. Having just visited Salem for the first time a few weeks ago and I was disgusted by the shameless capitalistic approach the city embraces for tourists (which the author more eloquently mentions). Because of this, I felt it was important to find a book that tells the story in its entirety. The Six Women of Salem did not disappoint!

Excellent

Excellent and thoroughly researched account of the 1692 trials and aftermath. Fictional sections provide drama and supposition but mostly seem factual/possible.

Well researched

Narration was very well performed. Likely would not be as interesting to readers who are new to the Salem witches story.

Didn't make it past the character intros

I'm not saying this title is bad, I have no clue as I quit pretty early in but potential buyers should know this is a semi fictionalized in parts, super deep dive of the people that took part in the witch trials that I just did not have the attention span for. The narrator's voice is clear but monotone and uninteresting. I'm sure this book has its merits, I'm sure there are tons of folks that will love this but if you're bored semi-easily then proceed with caution.

Well researched history saved by narrator Kate

We all know a tidbit of this story but, by focusing on the implications for six specific real women and their families, it becomes much more easy to understand. Very little literary license is taken by the author - and still the story is great!

But remember: this is history, not a novel. The narrator has a great tone and makes a long book very listenable. Sometime it was easy to lose focus while listening, which may have more to do with the material that the tone.

Because of the amount of detail, the print book was very difficult to read. This narrator made it possible for me to complete the book. Thank you.