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Witchland: A Tale of Witch Hunting and War in Seventeenth-Century Britain
Not yet published
Expected 30 Jul 26If the witchfinders came to your town, who would you have believed – and what would you have done?
Set during the chaos of the British civil wars, Witchland reveals how economic uncertainty, hunger and religious extremism created the ideal conditions for mass witch-hunting in Britain. Across the country, fear spread rapidly, and neighbours turned on one another in panic. Women and the poor were especially vulnerable, scapegoated by the powerful looking for someone to blame, and hundreds of witch trials across the country soon followed. The hysteria provided a handbook for similar trials to occur around the world, most famously just a few decades later in Salem.
Moving from village to village, Witchland shows how accusations grew out of everyday tensions – poverty, grief, and resentment – and how entire communities became involved in the persecution of the innocent. Drawing on newly uncovered historical records, this gripping historical account restores the voices of those accused of witchcraft. These were ordinary people, largely forgotten by history, along with their families and neighbours caught up in suspicion and moral panic.
Both a powerful history and a warning from the past, Witchland is the captivating story of witchcraft, inequality and the violence that surfaces during times of political and economic upheaval.
Set during the chaos of the British civil wars, Witchland reveals how economic uncertainty, hunger and religious extremism created the ideal conditions for mass witch-hunting in Britain. Across the country, fear spread rapidly, and neighbours turned on one another in panic. Women and the poor were especially vulnerable, scapegoated by the powerful looking for someone to blame, and hundreds of witch trials across the country soon followed. The hysteria provided a handbook for similar trials to occur around the world, most famously just a few decades later in Salem.
Moving from village to village, Witchland shows how accusations grew out of everyday tensions – poverty, grief, and resentment – and how entire communities became involved in the persecution of the innocent. Drawing on newly uncovered historical records, this gripping historical account restores the voices of those accused of witchcraft. These were ordinary people, largely forgotten by history, along with their families and neighbours caught up in suspicion and moral panic.
Both a powerful history and a warning from the past, Witchland is the captivating story of witchcraft, inequality and the violence that surfaces during times of political and economic upheaval.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionWitches
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 30, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley.
I was not a fan of Gibson’s Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials, mostly because while I agreed with her politics, some of it felt like a bit of a stretch, though I understood the point. I enjoyed this book far more.
Gibson looks at the witchcraft trials from the viewpoint of the victims. She focuses almost entirely on the women, detailing the diverse causes that lead the women to being arrested and charged. She also details as much as she came what came after, including those times when the women escaped, and why they were able to escape.
In many ways, it Is a good read along with Diane Purkiss’ book about the English Civil War.
What I particularly was the focus on the why and the who, not on the men who charged the women. It is a far better focus and gives the victims their due.
It would be fair to say that at times the tone is a little dry, but it does reward the reader. It also points the way to some of what Gibson covered in the Witchcraft – how people, for lack of a better term, manifest trials, cause them to be. She does from the beginning with her first case.
Not all the people accused were killed, and Gibson does include cases where the people survived the accusation, though as she readies notes finding the reason why or what happened after is not always easy. The book presents a more fleshed out picture of the trials as well as the possible motivations behind them.
I was not a fan of Gibson’s Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials, mostly because while I agreed with her politics, some of it felt like a bit of a stretch, though I understood the point. I enjoyed this book far more.
Gibson looks at the witchcraft trials from the viewpoint of the victims. She focuses almost entirely on the women, detailing the diverse causes that lead the women to being arrested and charged. She also details as much as she came what came after, including those times when the women escaped, and why they were able to escape.
In many ways, it Is a good read along with Diane Purkiss’ book about the English Civil War.
What I particularly was the focus on the why and the who, not on the men who charged the women. It is a far better focus and gives the victims their due.
It would be fair to say that at times the tone is a little dry, but it does reward the reader. It also points the way to some of what Gibson covered in the Witchcraft – how people, for lack of a better term, manifest trials, cause them to be. She does from the beginning with her first case.
Not all the people accused were killed, and Gibson does include cases where the people survived the accusation, though as she readies notes finding the reason why or what happened after is not always easy. The book presents a more fleshed out picture of the trials as well as the possible motivations behind them.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for the eARC!
I really enjoyed (not sure if that’s the right word considering all the executions and whatnot but it will have to do) the author’s last book, so when I saw this was coming out, I was eager to get a chance to read it. I can say that I find the book quite interesting and easy to read. I also have a weird (or is it though?) fascination with the history of witch trials, so I’m always down to read a new book about the topic.
Although the book is heavy on historical details, it isn’t hard to follow and the writing is engaging. I learned plenty of new things about the witch trials in England. I also liked that the author focused on the victims more than the perpetrators. Most of us know the name Matthew Hopkins, but so few of us know the people who he helped kill. Also, not relevant and I hate to give him any more attention, but he wasn’t even thirty when he died and that threw me for a loop. Imagine roaming the country looking for witches, getting paid for said hunts, leading possibly hundreds (if not more) people to their death and being The Absolute Worst all before 30. Yikes.
Overall, an interesting, engaging book that was both fascinating and heart-breaking. I’d recommend this one for anyone interested in the history of witch trials, the way superstitious beliefs can spread, and what the life of those killed was like before their executions.
I really enjoyed (not sure if that’s the right word considering all the executions and whatnot but it will have to do) the author’s last book, so when I saw this was coming out, I was eager to get a chance to read it. I can say that I find the book quite interesting and easy to read. I also have a weird (or is it though?) fascination with the history of witch trials, so I’m always down to read a new book about the topic.
Although the book is heavy on historical details, it isn’t hard to follow and the writing is engaging. I learned plenty of new things about the witch trials in England. I also liked that the author focused on the victims more than the perpetrators. Most of us know the name Matthew Hopkins, but so few of us know the people who he helped kill. Also, not relevant and I hate to give him any more attention, but he wasn’t even thirty when he died and that threw me for a loop. Imagine roaming the country looking for witches, getting paid for said hunts, leading possibly hundreds (if not more) people to their death and being The Absolute Worst all before 30. Yikes.
Overall, an interesting, engaging book that was both fascinating and heart-breaking. I’d recommend this one for anyone interested in the history of witch trials, the way superstitious beliefs can spread, and what the life of those killed was like before their executions.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews