New York: George Braziller, Inc. First Edition. First printing. Signed author dedication to front pastedown dated 1969. In original unclipped dust jacket, protected by archival cover. Red Boards with black and silver gilt title to spine. 215 x 150 mm (8½ x 6 inches). Very slight bumping to spine and corners. Cover has some small closed tears, rubbing, and edge wear. Overall very good copy that author gave as a gift to friends in March 1969.
Chadwick Hansen made an astonishing claim in this book. He asserted that a few of those accused in Salem were actually guilty, and that witches did practice in Salem, some causing real harm to others.
"There was witchcraft in Salem, and it worked," writes Hansen, who was a former English professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "There was every reason to regard it as a criminal offense."
Belief in witchcraft was far from unique to Salem, Hansen argued; it was endemic to Europe at the time and a constant in the English culture that 17th century New England reflected.