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The Devil in Massachusetts
 
 
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The Devil in Massachusetts (Paperback)

by Marion Starkey (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £11.00
Price: £9.90 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

The Devil in Massachusetts + In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 + Salem Possessed: Social Origins of Witchcraft (Harvard Paperbacks)
Price For All Three: £33.80

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The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England

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Delusion of Satan: Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group; Anchor Books ed edition (Jun 1969)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0385035098
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385035095
  • Product Dimensions: 20.7 x 13.2 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 495,165 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Devil in Massachusetts
78% buy the item featured on this page:
The Devil in Massachusetts 3.4 out of 5 stars (8)
£9.90
Delusion of Satan: Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials
22% buy
Delusion of Satan: Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials 2.8 out of 5 stars (6)
£16.95
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An Informative Read, 30 April 2008
I recently became interested in Salem Witch trials and related subjects, and Starkey's "The Devil in Massachusetts" was recommended to me as a starting point. And, it was an interesting read. It is the first book to which I would read about the witch trials in 1692 Salem.

I also find it interesting to learn about the reactions from the locals and authorities to hysteria or paranoia regarding "witches" in Salem and relating tales. It involved a look at the social background from both accused and the accusers during this time period. It almost reminds me of reading about the mass hysteria of Chinese society of 1768 in Philip Kuhn's "Soulstealers."

This book was first published in 1949, and it is roughly 300 pages with twenty-two chapters. The writing style almost read as a historical scholarly article as it is almost wordy. However, the information lies within interests me to inquire further on the subject to which the "selected bibliography" was helpful for starting a research.

In my opinion, it is very informative reading, and it is certainly shows one example of a mass hysteria that can happen in any town or society.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and interestingq, 31 Aug 1999
By A Customer
This was a great book about the witch trials in Massachussetts. I was amazed at how it all began, and how quick the citizens were to jump to conclusions. While I can not attest to the historical accuracies, the book is definitely worth a read!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A history of mass-hysteria - still possible today, 18 Aug 1999
By A Customer
I first read, "The Devil in Massachusetts" in the late1960s as part of a colonial history course. Having also an interest in psychology at that time, I was impressed with the story of the mass-hysteria and the book made a lasting impression on me.

I re-read the book following a visit to Salem, Massachusetts this summer. I had noticed the same mass-hysteria involving false charges of child-sexual abuse along with the recovered memory movement during the 1980s an 1990s. Although Starkey necessarily presents her tale against a background of religion and religious delusions, the contempory mass-hysteria has no apparent connection to religion but the reactions of the public (society) shows a distrubing duplication of the process of hysterical contagion.

Once a "cause", whether it be sexual abuse, gun control or other "hot-button" issue, is pushed into the limelight and kept there by fanatics of whatever stripe, abetted and given publicity by the media, the society (public) has almost a religious need to curtail critical thinking, accept accusation as proven fact, believe stories of impossible events and destroy their fellow citizens without compunction.

And that is the horror that is demonstrated by Starkey's work; and the naivete of the old, standby reassurances, "It couldn't happen in this day and age", "It could never happen here".

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better
While the book had the potential to be very interesting, the wording and style only dragged on creating a book not only difficult to read, but impossible to get into.
Published on 30 Aug 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars Painful
Terribly boring and innaccurate, much better reasources abound.
Published on 29 May 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars Factual errors abound
While this book, first published in 1949, is very readable, the serious student will be chagrined by it's factual errors. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars If you can read this, you need Starkey's Book!
Starkey does an outstanding job placing the witchcraft scare of 1692 into a narrative form, which makes it easy for any reader to fully understand. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 1997

3.0 out of 5 stars Factual yet interesting.
A six for a better than average historical account. This book strips away the mystery of the Salem witch trials and reveals a very human source of the hysteria. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 1997

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