Eve LaPlante

LaPlante, a direct descendant of Sewall’s (6th-great-granddaughter), has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. She has written for The Atlantic,New York Times,Ladies’ Home Journal,Gourmet, and Boston Magazine. Her previous books, Seized and American Jezebel(a biography of Anne Hutchinson, LaPlante’s 12th-generation ancestor), were published to critical acclaim. She lives with her husband and four children in Massachusetts on land originally owned by Sewall. Visit LaPlante on www.evelaplante.com

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Biography/History

Salem Witch Judge

The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall

Talking Points

Salem Witch Judge won the Massachusetts Book Award, the Winslow House Book Prize and been added to the Highly Recommended list by the Boston Authors Club. As a direct descent of Sewall, LaPlante can accurately discuss historical fact and fiction from a time that is mysterious and popular in the American psyche. LaPlante is an expert on contemporary New England and can speak about the best museums, landmarks, and historical sites to visit.

Description

What separates Judge Sewall from the others is his famous public repentance, immortalized in a mural in the Massachusetts State House. Though the witchcraft trials would make him infamous, there is much, much more to Judge Samuel Sewall. Drawing on documents not available to the public, based on Sewall’s extensive personal diaries and letters, as well as archived public documents, this biography offers a fascinating look into daily life in Colonial America, and tells the intimate story of a remarkable figure whose influence on American history cannot be ignored.

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