Arthur Miller’s classic parable of mass hysteria draws a
chilling parallel between the Salem witch-hunt of 1692 – ‘one of the strangest
and most awful chapters in human history’ – and the American anti-communist
purges led by Senator McCarthy in the 1950s. The story of how the small
community of Salem is stirred into madness by superstition, paranoia and
malice, culminating in a violent climax, is a savage attack on the evils of
mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations.

A depiction of innocent men and women destroyed by malicious rumour,The
Crucibleis also a powerful indictment of McCarthyism and the
‘frontier mentality’ of Cold War America.

About the Author

American dramatist Arthur Miller was born in New York City
in 1915. In 1938 Miller won awards for his comedyThe Grass Still Grows.
His major achievement wasDeath of a Salesman, which won the 1949
Pulitzer Prize for drama and the 1949 New York Drama Critics’ Circle
Award.The Cruciblewas aimed at the widespread congressional
investigation of subversive activities in the US; the drama won the 1953 Tony
Award. Miller’s autobiography,Timebends: A Lifewas published
in 1987.