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reneoro's review against another edition
4.0
¡Tales son las terribles consecuencias de los prejuicios populares!
mattaukamp's review
3.0
A good research book, with some nice insights in the intros to each piece of material and in the notes. However, a lot of these old legal documents and theological papers are hard to read. They're all very dry and archaic, not to mention fragmented.
I wouldn't read this for pleasure, unless you were going to read the intros and the notes and skim the texts. But for research, it's well compiled.
I wouldn't read this for pleasure, unless you were going to read the intros and the notes and skim the texts. But for research, it's well compiled.
balletbookworm's review
4.0
Excellent short anthology of court records and testimony from witch trials in both England and the colonial US, mostly New England.
It would have helped, for ease of reading, to make it more clear where unintelligible or missing writing was in the transcript because [torn] or [illegible] were often right in line with the transcript and it was a bit confusing.
It would have helped, for ease of reading, to make it more clear where unintelligible or missing writing was in the transcript because [torn] or [illegible] were often right in line with the transcript and it was a bit confusing.
100pagesaday's review
4.0
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." This one phrase from Exodus has shaped the lives of countess people throughout history, especially women. The Penguin Book of Witches is a non-fiction account of Witchcraft from medieval England to the new Colonies. Shedding light on the evolution of the trials of the witches themselves to the spread of fear in the new world, this is a comprehensive view of just how witches were accused and tried in the words of the accused and afflicted.
The Penguin Book of Witches examines historical documents and transcripts with explanations for each occurrence within its historical context. While I enjoyed reading about the Salem trials, more interesting to me were the people tried before the hysteria. In enjoyed reading these first hand accounts, even as the Old English threw me for a few loops, I definitely needed to keep flipping back to the notes section, but there was a lot of good information back there. Whenever I read about witchcraft, I am always amazed at some of the parallels to persecution of women today. Among the similarities of the women accused were women of poor economic standing, women who were seen as attempting to gain power or women who practiced medicine. Hopefully we can learn from the past and those who call us "nasty women" today won't begin the craziness again.
The Penguin Book of Witches examines historical documents and transcripts with explanations for each occurrence within its historical context. While I enjoyed reading about the Salem trials, more interesting to me were the people tried before the hysteria. In enjoyed reading these first hand accounts, even as the Old English threw me for a few loops, I definitely needed to keep flipping back to the notes section, but there was a lot of good information back there. Whenever I read about witchcraft, I am always amazed at some of the parallels to persecution of women today. Among the similarities of the women accused were women of poor economic standing, women who were seen as attempting to gain power or women who practiced medicine. Hopefully we can learn from the past and those who call us "nasty women" today won't begin the craziness again.
alicech's review
3.0
The primary sources were a little bit boring to me, and hard for me to understand, so I didn't read all of them. The explanations in italics were really interesting though. I think this book is really valuable, it's just not what I thought I was getting myself into, as I thought it was more of a history book.
reed_with_read's review
informative
3.5
Summary: A chronological collection of primary source documents (court documents mostly but also commentary/think pieces) that paint a picture of the lead up, the climax, and the aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials and the Witch Panic that plagued America. Howe also provides context and commentary of her own to help guide the reader.
Review:
This is a very academic and dry read - which is entirely its purpose. It is more focused on bringing historical context to our modern day understanding of the witch trials.
And it does this well.
It feels a little like a drag to get through at some points, mostly because -> court/admin documents.
So, that is in no part due to the author.
Howe's commentary is usually simply contextual, and you can see she has a depth of knowledge in this area.
There are times when she is showing more of her opinions on the matter being noted.
But whenever these come up, they genuinely feel entirely fair enough.
Main Take-aways:
- "Rowdy" and "difficult" women were being "put in their place".
- There was a genuine belief in magic and witchcraft, but no one could agree what and how, and what was OK and what was the Devil.
- Things spiraled very quickly out of control, even from the people who were running the trials it seems.
- There were lots and lots of people who at the time, and there after, severely disproved of the trials.
End Note:
This is definitely worth a read for people interested in women's history, not just witch history.
It provides some really good insight into the social and cultural dynamic of the time.
And this type of context can aid with understanding when it comes to Witch Trial history, Women's History, or even some contemporary events.
Review:
This is a very academic and dry read - which is entirely its purpose. It is more focused on bringing historical context to our modern day understanding of the witch trials.
And it does this well.
It feels a little like a drag to get through at some points, mostly because -> court/admin documents.
So, that is in no part due to the author.
Howe's commentary is usually simply contextual, and you can see she has a depth of knowledge in this area.
There are times when she is showing more of her opinions on the matter being noted.
But whenever these come up, they genuinely feel entirely fair enough.
Main Take-aways:
- "Rowdy" and "difficult" women were being "put in their place".
- There was a genuine belief in magic and witchcraft, but no one could agree what and how, and what was OK and what was the Devil.
- Things spiraled very quickly out of control, even from the people who were running the trials it seems.
- There were lots and lots of people who at the time, and there after, severely disproved of the trials.
End Note:
This is definitely worth a read for people interested in women's history, not just witch history.
It provides some really good insight into the social and cultural dynamic of the time.
And this type of context can aid with understanding when it comes to Witch Trial history, Women's History, or even some contemporary events.
andreaitziar's review against another edition
3.0
Un libro con una premisa interesante, pero que sabe a poco. En mi opinión, se centra tanto en las transcripciones de los juicios y comentarios de otras personas sobre el tema que se echa de menos una reflexión más profunda por parte de la autora.
Las notas al final del libro ayudan a aclarar algunos aspectos, pero la contextualización podría haber estado mejor trabajada, y habría ayudado al lector a entender mejor la histeria que había en torno al tema de la brujería.
Algunas transcripciones se me hicieron un poco tediosas y repetitivas porque al final desencadenaban en lo mismo: misoginia, clasismo y racismo; y siento que el libro se ha quedado en una recopilación de historias y teorías, sin mucho más análisis. Puede que esté metiendo la pata, pero siento que hay muchísimo más acerca del nacimiento de estas creencias que la autora ha omitido o pasado por alto.
Las notas al final del libro ayudan a aclarar algunos aspectos, pero la contextualización podría haber estado mejor trabajada, y habría ayudado al lector a entender mejor la histeria que había en torno al tema de la brujería.
Algunas transcripciones se me hicieron un poco tediosas y repetitivas porque al final desencadenaban en lo mismo: misoginia, clasismo y racismo; y siento que el libro se ha quedado en una recopilación de historias y teorías, sin mucho más análisis. Puede que esté metiendo la pata, pero siento que hay muchísimo más acerca del nacimiento de estas creencias que la autora ha omitido o pasado por alto.
kirstym25's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Misogyny