DANIEL A. GAGNON serves on the board of directors of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead Museum in Danvers, Massachusetts (formerly known as Salem Village). A high school history teacher on the North Shore, he received a BA in history from Providence College and an MA in history from Boston College.
"Anyone with an interest in legal history, law and religion, or
both, will find this book an enlightening account of how the
processes of justice can be alarmingly frail under emotional,
social and political pressure. Some of the factors which were in
play in 17th century New England are far removed from our present
experience, but many of patterns of behaviour are not. This is an
extremely scholarly account, which would be of interest both to
those with longstanding knowledge and expertise on the Salem trials
but is also accessible and readable enough to make an enticing
starting point for further study."--Law & Justice "Daniel Gagnon's
biography of Rebecca Nurse places her life and continuing legacy as
well as her death in thorough historical context. In the process,
Gagnon unravels some previous assumptions and suggests new lines of
inquiry. The bibliography and notes are valuable resources in
themselves."--Marilynne K. Roach, author of Six Women of Salem and
The Salem Witch Trials "Dan Gagnon has written a highly readable
and first scholarly biography of Rebecca Nurse, perhaps the most
famous of the Massachusetts Salem witchcraft victims of 1692.
Meticulously researched, Gagnon traces the history and biography of
Nurse and her family through their New World settlement; the
dramatic events of her accusation, trial, and final execution; and
the later remembrances of her and her legacy in today's world. In
telling the powerful story of Rebecca, Gagnon makes the complex
history of the Salem witch trials more easily understood, while at
the same time giving us a very good read."--Richard B. Trask,
author of The Devil Hath Been Raised
"A well-written look at the judicial misconduct that took place in
1692 and the perfect storm of events that facilitated this awful
period in our history. But most of all, it is the story of the
Nurse family and its undying love for its matriarch, who they not
only stood by in the worst hours of her life, but even after death,
getting both her conviction and excommunication overturned and
creating a legacy that has outlasted them all."--Berkshire Eagle
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
