kids encyclopedia robot

Tituba of Salem Village facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Tituba of Salem Village
TitubaOfSalemVillage.jpg
First edition
Author Ann Petry
Cover artist John Wilson
Country United States
Language English
Genre African-American Literature
Publisher Thomas Y. Crowell
Publication date
1964
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 272
ISBN 978-0-06-440403-7 Paperback)
OCLC 24857720

Tituba of Salem Village is a 1964 children's novel by African-American writer Ann Petry about the 17th-century West Indian slave of the same name who was the first to be accused of practicing witchcraft during the 1692 Salem witch trials. Written for children 10 and up, it portrays Tituba as a black West Indian woman who tells stories about life in Barbados to the village girls. These stories are mingled with existing superstitions and half-remembered pagan beliefs on the part of Puritans, and the witchcraft hysteria is partly attributed to a sort of cabin fever during a particularly bitter winter. Petry's portrayal of the helplessness of women in that period, particularly slaves and indentured servants, is key to understanding her view of the Tituba legend.

kids search engine
Tituba of Salem Village Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.