I didn’t expect a biography to read like an unfolding mystery, but that’s exactly what Philip Heselton delivers. Witchfather is dense, detailed, and absolutely fascinating. It brings to life not just Gerald Gardner, the eccentric, driven, sometimes flawed man at the heart of modern Wicca, but the world around him: secret societies, spiritual seekers, post war Britain, and a yearning for something ancient and mystical.
Heselton doesn’t glorify or judge he digs, questions, cross references, and allows the reader to make up their own mind. It’s part biography, part detective work, and part love letter to the origins of a spiritual movement that’s still evolving.
If you’re even remotely curious about where modern witchcraft comes from, or what drives a man to resurrect an ancient path in a skeptical world, this book is worth every page. Now onto Volume 2.