Amidst the historic play-by-play, Roach takes the time to really focus on 6 specific women of the trials: How did they each come to be living in Salem, 1692 (indisputably a WRONG place & WRONG time)? What fears, hopes, misunderstandings could‘ve led innocent women to confess? What traumas & biases, left to fester, could have brought about such hysteria?
This book doesn‘t pretend to have all the answers. But it‘s important to ask the questions.