Description
Book Synopsis'These stories of witchcraft, true and vividly told, demonstrate the potent reality of belief in evil and how in any era or place fear can be weaponised and marginal people, mostly women, labelled as wicked and dangerous. Together they comprise not just a history of witchcraft but a cautionary tale’ Malcolm Gaskill, author of
The Ruin of All Witches The world of
witch-hunts and
witch trials sounds archaic and fanciful, these terms relics of an unenlightened, brutal age. However, we often hear ‘witch-hunt’ in today’s media, and the misogyny that shaped witch trials is all too familiar.
Three women were prosecuted under a version of the 1735 Witchcraft Act as recently as 2018. In
Witchcraft –
a stunning hardback with 16 pages of beautiful illustrations – Professor Marion Gibson uses thirteen significant trials to tell the
Trade Review
'These stories of witchcraft, true and vividly told, demonstrate the potent reality of belief in evil and how in any era or place fear can be weaponised and marginal people, mostly women, labelled as wicked and dangerous. Together they comprise not just a history of witchcraft but a cautionary tale of the uncomfortably human habits of paranoia and persecution' -- Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin of All Witches
'It is wonderful to come across a book that breathes such fresh life and energy into a well-worked subject, covering a huge range of time and space with a unified, passionate and convincing message. Any expert is going to learn something new from it, any newcomer to be enthralled and motivated' -- Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch
'Thought-provoking and timely... Searing' -- Jessie Childs * The Times *
'A vital and vivid study on the history of witch trials. Fantastic’ -- Anya Bergman, author of The Witches of Vardo
’Thirteen witch trials are brought vividly to life in Gibson’s wide-ranging book’ * Daily Mail *
'Inventive and compelling... A work of restitution and historical reparation, an attempt to give voice to those who have been silenced over the centuries' -- Laura Kounine * Times Literary Supplement *
'The trials of the accused people in Witchcraft return to us, in detail, lives about which we might otherwise know nothing' * New Yorker *
