Cotton Mather & Robert Calef 
The Witchcraft Delusion in New England (Vol. 1-3) 
Its Rise, Progress, and Termination (Complete Edition)

The Witchcraft Delusion in New England in three volumes is a book relating the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693. It presents the compilation of works on the subject by Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister involved in trials and Robert Calef who opposed Mather. After the trials Mather published the book Wonders of the Invisible World which contained a few of Mather’s sermons, the conditions of the colony and a description of witch trials in Europe. He argued that since there are witches and devils, there are ‘immortal souls.’ He also claimed that witches appear spectrally as themselves. Calef’s response was the book More Wonders of the Invisible World in which he denounced Mather’s preaches. The Witchcraft Delusion in New England contains both of those works with the analysis and additional materials which provide a detailed look on the subject of witchcraft.

A propos de l’auteur

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) was a New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. He is remembered for his involvement in the Salem witch trials. In an effort to promote the ongoing trials, Mather wrote Wonders of the Invisible World. After exchanging letters with Cotton Mather and many other area ministers, Robert Calef (1648-1719) wrote More Wonders of the Invisible World, a book composed throughout the mid-1690s denouncing the recent Salem witch trials of 1692–1693 and particularly examining the influential role played by Cotton Mather.