ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the extraordinary rise and fall of witchcraft allegations in the last half of the seventeenth century. It also describes the cultural misogyny that led to the conviction of 14 defendants for the first-ranked capital crime of witchcraft. 12 of these 14 people were women. The book examines in detail the extraordinary circumstances in which nine women and two men were hanged for witchcraft. It shows that the tension was resolved by the end of the century in favor of legal realism. The book also shows that the clash between the degradation of slavery and Enlightenment ideals was the immediate provocation for the de facto end of female capital punishment in the New Republic and since. It discusses the second-degree convictions of three Victorian poisoners and their paramours: Lucina Coleman, Loretta Alexander, and Kate Cobb.
