First published 1997
Adam Goodheart examines the phenomenon of witch hunting across different eras and cultures through a collection of literary and historical perspectives. The book brings together works by Arthur Miller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Thurber, and Guy de Maupassant alongside historical accounts and contemporary analysis. Goodheart traces how societies identify and persecute outsiders, from the Salem witch trials to modern-day scapegoating. The collection includes Miller's reflections on his famous play, Hawthorne's dark tale of Puritan paranoia, and Alderman's examination of collective guilt. Goodheart provides his own guide for recognizing the mechanisms of mass hysteria and persecution. The book reveals how fear transforms neighbors into enemies and ordinary people into accusers, showing the recurring patterns that drive communities to turn against their own members.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Salem
Period: Puritan Era
233 pages · Hardcover · McDougal Littell
Content warnings: abuse, violence