Presented by the Friends of the Peabody Institute Library

Danvers native Dan Gagnon will speak about sites in Danvers that pertain to the 1692 witch trials and then he will share information from his soon to be published book, A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse, the first full account of Nurse's life. In the book, Gagnon vividly recreates seventeenth-century Salem, and in the process challenges previous interpretations of Nurse's life and the 1692 witch hunt in general. Through primary source research, he reveals how the Nurse family's role in several disputes prior to the witch hunt was different than previously thought, as well as how Nurse's case helps answer the important question of whether the accusations of witchcraft were caused by mental illness or malicious intent. A Salem Witch reveals a remarkable woman whose legacy has transformed how the witch hunt has been remembered and memorialized.

This program is supported, in part by a grant from the Danvers Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

The program will be presented over Zoom.  Login instructions will be sent to you two days prior to the program.