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Witches: The History of a Persecution
There have been numerous attempts to explain the witch-hunting mania that swept the Western world between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. Nigel Cawthorne vividly brings the hysteria to life with this powerful examination of actual witchcraft cases, and provides a compelling description of what it was like to live in a society where everyone believed in witches. Using contemporaneous court reports, depositions, letters, confessions and detailed written accounts, the author builds a terrifying picture of a world beset by the collective mania that was the Witch Hunt.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
158 people are currently reading
993 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Cawthorne
316 books124 followersNigel Cawthorne is an Anglo-American writer of fiction and non-fiction, and an editor. He has written more than 80 books on a wide range of subjects and has contributed to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail and The New York Times. He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".
One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.
Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).
Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".
One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.
Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
January 23, 2014
While very informative, the books suffers in that Cawthorne cannot present any facts in an interesting manner, unless it is told from the point-of-view of an eyewitness (journal entries, letters, court testimony, etc.) While I'm grateful to see a book that concentrates on the European side of witch hunting, I'm sure a scan through the "Suggested Reading" in the back of the book will yield far more interesting accounts than this dreadful piece of non-fiction.
The European experience is talked about for the majority of the piece. Perhaps Cawthorne's intent was to focus on this and assume his readers are well-informed of the Salem witch trials. That being said, I don't think this is an excuse to focus on Salem for less than five pages.
The accounts that readers might not know of are, at best, presented in a lackluster manner, as they are simply stated briefly before moving on to another instance of witch hunting. As a result, one walks away from this book able to recall only the most graphic of witch hunts across Europe.
The book could be redeemed as a great source for researchers; in other words, if you're looking for a starting point for your own project, this might be a good place to begin. Actually, I should say it would be a good starting point if Cawthorne cited a single source. All we are given is the "Recommended Reads" in the back of the book, which I assume is a piss-poor excuse for a bibliography. The laziness of not citing comes off as lack of professionalism on the writer's part and the reader is forced to take everything stated with a grain of salt.
This lack of professionalism continues to be advanced upon the reader by the grammatical and spelling mistakes running rampant throughout the text. In fact, there are very few pages (if any) that are free from error. It boggled my mind how so many mistakes in structure and verb tense could exist in this book that I was forced to check the front of the book and verify that it had an editor. Amazingly, it did.
If you're casually interested in finding out more about the witch hunting craze, this might be informative; however, be cautious going in that it will be repetitive and boring. If you're more than just casually interested in the subject, I would do a little more research and find something better. It shouldn't be too hard.
The European experience is talked about for the majority of the piece. Perhaps Cawthorne's intent was to focus on this and assume his readers are well-informed of the Salem witch trials. That being said, I don't think this is an excuse to focus on Salem for less than five pages.
The accounts that readers might not know of are, at best, presented in a lackluster manner, as they are simply stated briefly before moving on to another instance of witch hunting. As a result, one walks away from this book able to recall only the most graphic of witch hunts across Europe.
The book could be redeemed as a great source for researchers; in other words, if you're looking for a starting point for your own project, this might be a good place to begin. Actually, I should say it would be a good starting point if Cawthorne cited a single source. All we are given is the "Recommended Reads" in the back of the book, which I assume is a piss-poor excuse for a bibliography. The laziness of not citing comes off as lack of professionalism on the writer's part and the reader is forced to take everything stated with a grain of salt.
This lack of professionalism continues to be advanced upon the reader by the grammatical and spelling mistakes running rampant throughout the text. In fact, there are very few pages (if any) that are free from error. It boggled my mind how so many mistakes in structure and verb tense could exist in this book that I was forced to check the front of the book and verify that it had an editor. Amazingly, it did.
If you're casually interested in finding out more about the witch hunting craze, this might be informative; however, be cautious going in that it will be repetitive and boring. If you're more than just casually interested in the subject, I would do a little more research and find something better. It shouldn't be too hard.
March 29, 2020
While there were a few moments I enjoyed, these were quickly overshadowed by the number of mistakes in the book. Punctuation, spelling, syntax, typesetting, and sometimes basic English were problematic on nearly every other page. I lost count of all the typos and errors.
As I writer, I understand that mistakes slip by, especially if we’re staring at the same manuscript day in and day out. I find that some of the blame lies with the publisher, Arcturus, who never should have allowed this book to go into publication like this. I will be avoiding them in the future, as both a writer and a reader. The mistakes were so numerous that I found myself not only distracted by them at the best of times, but unable to read it at the worst.
While I partially blame the publisher (as no editor has clearly touched this book), ultimately it’s Cawthorne who is disappointing. If your name is on the cover of a book, you better make damn sure it’s good and not continue with blind trust in people who have blatantly not done their jobs.
If it weren’t for the COVID-19 national lockdown, this abomination would be back at WHSmith and not taking up good space on my bookshelf, next to books that have actually been produced properly.
As I writer, I understand that mistakes slip by, especially if we’re staring at the same manuscript day in and day out. I find that some of the blame lies with the publisher, Arcturus, who never should have allowed this book to go into publication like this. I will be avoiding them in the future, as both a writer and a reader. The mistakes were so numerous that I found myself not only distracted by them at the best of times, but unable to read it at the worst.
While I partially blame the publisher (as no editor has clearly touched this book), ultimately it’s Cawthorne who is disappointing. If your name is on the cover of a book, you better make damn sure it’s good and not continue with blind trust in people who have blatantly not done their jobs.
If it weren’t for the COVID-19 national lockdown, this abomination would be back at WHSmith and not taking up good space on my bookshelf, next to books that have actually been produced properly.
March 31, 2008
This reads like a poorly edited dissertation that actually added nothing to the field. Instead it is the historical equivalent of pulp fiction and Cawthorne treats his subject as more of a tabloid headline with little cohesion. The information was there, but the reader was constantly busy making mental edits. It had potential.
September 28, 2023
"I have reported the evidence without comment so that the reader can make up his or her own mind how such things can happen." so you have published a 240 page Wikipedia article.
October 30, 2014
If you ever wanted a can't-put-this-book-down history of witches and witchhunts, then this is the book for you. Even the cover screams out in vibrant red colour, forcing you to look at the subject. The author does a nice job here. Even though I know he writes many books focused on sensational disaster-type subjects, he has it down pat.
He takes the reader through the persecution of witches in different countries and how those specific areas handled the tortures and stake burnings. He will even note where certain cities and city-states would refuse to persecute witches, even when the country or nation was doing it wholeheartedly. There is a chapter on Father Grandier, who was burned at the stake when he dared challenge Richelieu. The information on the entire history of witch hysteria relating to profit-making by the persecutors is astonishing. We look upon the history of witches as something in the past, but it really came about due to people (mostly women) who lived outside the norm or challenged the political system.
Book Season = Autumn (tail of the night)
He takes the reader through the persecution of witches in different countries and how those specific areas handled the tortures and stake burnings. He will even note where certain cities and city-states would refuse to persecute witches, even when the country or nation was doing it wholeheartedly. There is a chapter on Father Grandier, who was burned at the stake when he dared challenge Richelieu. The information on the entire history of witch hysteria relating to profit-making by the persecutors is astonishing. We look upon the history of witches as something in the past, but it really came about due to people (mostly women) who lived outside the norm or challenged the political system.
Book Season = Autumn (tail of the night)
June 9, 2022
I loved this book by Nigel Cawthorne. I find it eerily comforting how little humanity has changed. We, collectively, have always been an incredibly violent species. The people who were accused of witchcraft in the "dark ages" of Europe were almost certainly innocent of all crimes. I really felt like I learned a lot about humanity from reading this collection. And I quite enjoyed how the author kept his own opinions and biases out of the way. This book presents only the historical accounts of the many, many witch trials that occurred in Europe (and a little in North America). There are a lot of typos but if you can get past those, this is a fantastic read for anybody interested in Western history. I give this book a solid 8/10.
November 21, 2024
Po książkę Nigel'a Cawthorne'a sięgnęłam na fali mojego zainteresowania historią procesów o czary w okresie od XV do XVII wieku. Czytałam już wcześniej absolutnie wciągającą pozycję od Stacy Schiff zatytułowaną "Czarownice. Salem, 1692" i liczyłam na coś równie świetnego i tym razem. Niestety, już na wstępie mogę Wam zdradzić, że bardzo się przeliczyłam.
Niestety, ale autor próbował tutaj złapać zbyt wiele srok za ogon. Zamiast skupić się na jednym konkretnym miejscu i czasie, Cawthorne serwuje nam opowieść o procesach i torturach z różnych miejsc, głównie w Europie. Znajdziemy więc w jego książce rozdziały o Szkocji, Franci, Hiszpanii, czy Skandynawii. I z pozoru brzmi to dobrze i zapowiada pasjonującą, wciągającą lekturę. Cóż, tak jak w swojej recenzji wspomniała użytkowniczka Aether, czyni to jednak książkę bardzo szybko monotonną i zwyczajnie nudną. Autor opisuje wstrząsające sceny tortur, podaje liczby ofiar, ich wiek oraz motywacje, które stały za ich skazaniem. A my, jako czytelnicy, po kilkudziesięciu stronach mamy wrażenie, jakbyśmy wciąż czytali jedno i to samo, zmieniają się tylko imiona i nazwy miejsc, które też z czasem zacierają się w jedno.
Książka, która w zamiarze — jak sądzę — miała zainteresować tym wstrząsającym tematem, sprawiła tylko, że mnie bardzo szybko ta chęć poszerzenia swojej wiedzy spadła gdzieś do poziomu zero. Sporym grzechem autora jest też to, że nie potrafi on pisać w interesujący, angażujący sposób. Nie winię tłumaczenia, bo w tym wypadku to nie ono jest czemukolwiek winne. Powtarzalne rozdziały, niedbałość, wymienianie, a nie opisywanie czynią z "Wiedź i czarownic" mało angażującą książkę, którą chce się po prostu dla przyzwoitości skończyć. Owszem, pierwszy rozdział jest dość ciekawy, ale każdy następny jest jego kalką.
Nie popisały się też tutaj redakcja i korekta. W książce jest sporo błędów, niektóre nazwiska zapisane są niepoprawnie, kuleje stylistyka i gramatyka.
Ogólnie rzecz ujmując — jest słabo. Książka niestety wylatuje z mojego regału, bo na pewno nie sięgnę po nią ponownie. Nie polecam. Myślę, że na rynku znaleźć można lepsze pozycje dotyczące tematu "czarownic", a na tę zwyczajnie szkoda czasu. I pieniędzy.
Niestety, ale autor próbował tutaj złapać zbyt wiele srok za ogon. Zamiast skupić się na jednym konkretnym miejscu i czasie, Cawthorne serwuje nam opowieść o procesach i torturach z różnych miejsc, głównie w Europie. Znajdziemy więc w jego książce rozdziały o Szkocji, Franci, Hiszpanii, czy Skandynawii. I z pozoru brzmi to dobrze i zapowiada pasjonującą, wciągającą lekturę. Cóż, tak jak w swojej recenzji wspomniała użytkowniczka Aether, czyni to jednak książkę bardzo szybko monotonną i zwyczajnie nudną. Autor opisuje wstrząsające sceny tortur, podaje liczby ofiar, ich wiek oraz motywacje, które stały za ich skazaniem. A my, jako czytelnicy, po kilkudziesięciu stronach mamy wrażenie, jakbyśmy wciąż czytali jedno i to samo, zmieniają się tylko imiona i nazwy miejsc, które też z czasem zacierają się w jedno.
Książka, która w zamiarze — jak sądzę — miała zainteresować tym wstrząsającym tematem, sprawiła tylko, że mnie bardzo szybko ta chęć poszerzenia swojej wiedzy spadła gdzieś do poziomu zero. Sporym grzechem autora jest też to, że nie potrafi on pisać w interesujący, angażujący sposób. Nie winię tłumaczenia, bo w tym wypadku to nie ono jest czemukolwiek winne. Powtarzalne rozdziały, niedbałość, wymienianie, a nie opisywanie czynią z "Wiedź i czarownic" mało angażującą książkę, którą chce się po prostu dla przyzwoitości skończyć. Owszem, pierwszy rozdział jest dość ciekawy, ale każdy następny jest jego kalką.
Nie popisały się też tutaj redakcja i korekta. W książce jest sporo błędów, niektóre nazwiska zapisane są niepoprawnie, kuleje stylistyka i gramatyka.
Ogólnie rzecz ujmując — jest słabo. Książka niestety wylatuje z mojego regału, bo na pewno nie sięgnę po nią ponownie. Nie polecam. Myślę, że na rynku znaleźć można lepsze pozycje dotyczące tematu "czarownic", a na tę zwyczajnie szkoda czasu. I pieniędzy.
March 3, 2022
就……沒什麼新東西（是要什麼新東西XD）
其實還蠻簡略的，以一種中性（還算客觀）的方式呈現記錄中對於長時間以來女巫審判的描述，那些被指控是女巫、巫師（當然，大多是女巫）的人所遭受的，以及簡單的政治氛圍（非常簡單，幾乎可以略過）。女巫審判的恐怖性就在於，這一段如此漫長的恐怖歷史甚至不用個人化、不需要被放入太多觀點，單純只是將這些（很多甚至是官方）記錄呈現出來，就足夠荒謬和恐怖。因為讀著這些文字的人心裡必然清楚：是的，這就是人類會做出來的事。這些恐懼、利用恐懼、散發恐懼，及彷彿漫無止盡的仇恨，其根源從來就不是女巫，而是人心。
惡魔在這整件事裡看起來都是無辜的（如果真有惡魔都會被人類嚇壞吧）
正在獵巫的人往往不會意識到自己正在獵巫，人類從以往到現在做的事或許沒有真正差異太多。
其實還蠻簡略的，以一種中性（還算客觀）的方式呈現記錄中對於長時間以來女巫審判的描述，那些被指控是女巫、巫師（當然，大多是女巫）的人所遭受的，以及簡單的政治氛圍（非常簡單，幾乎可以略過）。女巫審判的恐怖性就在於，這一段如此漫長的恐怖歷史甚至不用個人化、不需要被放入太多觀點，單純只是將這些（很多甚至是官方）記錄呈現出來，就足夠荒謬和恐怖。因為讀著這些文字的人心裡必然清楚：是的，這就是人類會做出來的事。這些恐懼、利用恐懼、散發恐懼，及彷彿漫無止盡的仇恨，其根源從來就不是女巫，而是人心。
惡魔在這整件事裡看起來都是無辜的（如果真有惡魔都會被人類嚇壞吧）
正在獵巫的人往往不會意識到自己正在獵巫，人類從以往到現在做的事或許沒有真正差異太多。
June 13, 2024
This was difficult to get through, I wish it was told in a more concise and chronological manner.
May 31, 2022
interesting read if you like learning about the witch trials because it goes into interesting theories in a pretty easy to understand writing style
October 29, 2015
I found it difficult to follow stories. There were a lot of spelling and grammar errors which made it difficult to sort who had done what. There is great information in this book, but it could have been written much better having the reader follow along easier.
September 9, 2025
I found this to be a strong reference material for witch hunts and contemporaneous testimony of witches in Europe in the Middle Ages, but the author is staunchly detached in the writing, and the book lacks critical reading or commentary which makes it a difficult read in how it chooses to present these (often troubling and horrendous) stories. As a result it comes across as (intentional or otherwise) sensationalist and weirdly gleeful. This might also be down to the jolly tone with which the audiobook is read, too. I doubt it was the author’s intention but it didn’t work for me or these reasons.
Despite this, a strong entry point into the real and human stories of the witch hunts with clearly rigorously researched accounts from England, France, Spain, Germany, beyond.
Despite this, a strong entry point into the real and human stories of the witch hunts with clearly rigorously researched accounts from England, France, Spain, Germany, beyond.
January 20, 2025
The information best presented in this book is summed up by a quote in it from a Swedish bishop "the witchcraft epidemic actually sprang from morbid imagination, malice, and a desire to attract attention". It is easy when reviewing the historical accounts of periods where witch hunts were plentiful, to find individuals or groups who gained from the persecution of women, the poor, or their political rivals either monetarily or influentially.
While originally I appreciated the presentation of fact without commentary, there were points where similar accounts were repeated at length and I wished they'd been summarized instead. There were also a lot of grammatical errors as the book went on.
While originally I appreciated the presentation of fact without commentary, there were points where similar accounts were repeated at length and I wished they'd been summarized instead. There were also a lot of grammatical errors as the book went on.
November 9, 2025
Not structured in a readable way, and the author works so hard to separate himself from the material that it is literally just like reading an index of a long list of witch trials throughout Europe, loosely categorised by country. The Wikipedia entry on witchcraft would likely yield as much, if not more, on the subject.
That all being said, there are some absolutely brilliant cases in here that will stick with you. The problem is these are among a great many that sound exactly the same, and likely after you've already felt yourself pushing through just to read it.
Books need to be readable; not just to contain a disconnected series of facts!
That all being said, there are some absolutely brilliant cases in here that will stick with you. The problem is these are among a great many that sound exactly the same, and likely after you've already felt yourself pushing through just to read it.
Books need to be readable; not just to contain a disconnected series of facts!
July 6, 2023
I had to read this for school, very critical in understanding and evaluating these sad and unfortunate times in history. It astounds me to learn of all the ways the human race inflicts torture upon one another, it is inhumane, disturbing, but sadly, it is the truth.
July 24, 2023
A decent look at the history of 'witch hunting manias' in different regions. There's some good pictures, the author tends to present the facts and records in a fairly straightforward manner but there's a few sly digs at the possibly motives and logic of those involved.
September 12, 2024
I seem to be in the minority, but I liked this. I knew beforehand it wasn’t about Salem so it didn’t bother me that Salem only had one chapter. I really enjoyed learning about the German witch trials in particular.
January 10, 2021
Content warning: Truama, torture, abuse, misogyny.
Not exactly a light holiday read however, a very interesting book. The author does shed some light on what can only be described as a disgusting abuse of power. It is however still very difficult to imagine how this could have occurred.
Not exactly a light holiday read however, a very interesting book. The author does shed some light on what can only be described as a disgusting abuse of power. It is however still very difficult to imagine how this could have occurred.
March 31, 2021
This book was fantastic and very educational.
February 5, 2024
3.5
Good accounts but some grammar and spelling problems and it wasn't really the most engaging book to start
Good accounts but some grammar and spelling problems and it wasn't really the most engaging book to start
September 18, 2017
Complete and thorough examination of the evolution of the witch trial BEFORE Salem in 1692
October 25, 2021
As a brief introduction to some of the persecutions across Europe (although not England, strangely), this isn't bad. But, it does suffer from a lack of editing so there are many errors in the text.
February 19, 2018
I read this book because my "education" about witchcraft was limited to the Salem Witch Trials, something presented as a small, isolated event in history. While reading the book Woman and Nature by Susan Griffin the misogyny of witch trails was mentioned and I went looking for a book that would give me detailed information about the where, when, how, and why of witch hunts.
Witch Hunt: History of a Persecution by Nigel Cawthorne gives a huge amount of information about the where, when, and how but not the why. The author explains in the introduction that there are many theories about what caused the witch hunts but he feels that he can't use his 21st century morals and education to honestly assess what took place between 1450 and 1750.
Cawthorne then produces, country by country and region by region, an extremely detailed account of the hundreds of thousands of witch trials and burnings. Horrific does not begin to describe the stories told in this book. While I had some knowledge of the torture and religious zealotism of the inquisition in Spain, the horrors outlined over the three hundreds years of history covered in this book make the inquisition seem minor in comparison.
This book reads more like a scientific paper than it does as a non-fiction book. It reflects what must have been thousands of hours of painstaking research and it would make an excellent jumping off point for a book exploring the psychological and sociological phenomena of "the madness of the crowd". Humans, when at their worse, use religion and politics to justify horrific behavior and this book gives two hundred pages of historical evidence of this sad fact.
Witch Hunt: History of a Persecution by Nigel Cawthorne gives a huge amount of information about the where, when, and how but not the why. The author explains in the introduction that there are many theories about what caused the witch hunts but he feels that he can't use his 21st century morals and education to honestly assess what took place between 1450 and 1750.
Cawthorne then produces, country by country and region by region, an extremely detailed account of the hundreds of thousands of witch trials and burnings. Horrific does not begin to describe the stories told in this book. While I had some knowledge of the torture and religious zealotism of the inquisition in Spain, the horrors outlined over the three hundreds years of history covered in this book make the inquisition seem minor in comparison.
This book reads more like a scientific paper than it does as a non-fiction book. It reflects what must have been thousands of hours of painstaking research and it would make an excellent jumping off point for a book exploring the psychological and sociological phenomena of "the madness of the crowd". Humans, when at their worse, use religion and politics to justify horrific behavior and this book gives two hundred pages of historical evidence of this sad fact.
March 23, 2023
A fine example of "as advertised, as delivered," Cawthorne's book offers a european history of witch hunts, unfair trials, corrupt systems, and unjustly executed people. It's a bit like drinking from the fire hose after case upon case comes across the page.
As a reader who was curious but was not deeply invested in the topic, it was a bit overwhelming. The recurring themes and echoes across countries and instances will stick with me but many of the specific cases fall victim to being very much like the one that precedes it, and the one proceeding.
Overall glad I read it, and it will be a fantastic reference for a student somewhere. Was a little dry for a recreational read, but I am by no means criticizing the overall work. Just didn't 100% gel with what I was in the mood for, but it's great for what it is
As a reader who was curious but was not deeply invested in the topic, it was a bit overwhelming. The recurring themes and echoes across countries and instances will stick with me but many of the specific cases fall victim to being very much like the one that precedes it, and the one proceeding.
Overall glad I read it, and it will be a fantastic reference for a student somewhere. Was a little dry for a recreational read, but I am by no means criticizing the overall work. Just didn't 100% gel with what I was in the mood for, but it's great for what it is
June 5, 2023
2,5
na start mialam straszny problem z tym jak byla napisana potem juz lepiej bylo
niektore rzeczy czesto powtarzano a za to innych nie tlumaczono
ciekawil mnie ten temat ale tak sie na tym wynudzilam j zawiodlam ze zmienilam nastepna ksiazke do przeczytania z te wiedzmy nie plona na wszystkiego co najlepsze przez wiedzmy w tytule XDDD
na start mialam straszny problem z tym jak byla napisana potem juz lepiej bylo
niektore rzeczy czesto powtarzano a za to innych nie tlumaczono
ciekawil mnie ten temat ale tak sie na tym wynudzilam j zawiodlam ze zmienilam nastepna ksiazke do przeczytania z te wiedzmy nie plona na wszystkiego co najlepsze przez wiedzmy w tytule XDDD
July 5, 2012
Two stars simply because some of the practices against witches was down-right insane. But seriously, no one proof read this book! I understand some mistakes sneak through to the final edition, but this was awful. It got to the point where I was looking for typos, instead of reading for content.
August 19, 2023
Homies don’t read this book, it’s not worth it. You can find a better book about European witchcraft.
November 30, 2023
Nigel Cawthorne is not an academic. He sorts through a hefty stack of works - some scholarly, some primary, some junk - and cherry picks the most salacious, scandalous, and sleazy examples which he then repackages into a typically short introductory narrative. His books may be better classified as coffee table books or reference works than a serious overview of a topic. The fact that his writings cover such diverse topics as witches, 21st Century sex scandals, WWII, gangsters, and business tycoons shows that he is casual writer, not an academic, not even a hobbyist. Readers should not expect to find new revelations or advanced scholarly research.
The focus of this book is the witch craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries with a decided focus on Europe where thousands died. The opening chapter focuses on Salem, MA; but, in true Cawthorne style, it is a cursory overview of the allegations and outcomes. Some readers criticize Cawthorne for the brevity of the Salem witch hunt; but compared to Europe, there were very few deaths for the crime of witchcraft in America. Remember, Cawthorne seeks out and regurgitates scandal, sex, and death. If there are slim pickings, he will move onto something else.
He finds much more sensational material to work with in Europe. The people were just as superstitious; the witch hunters were much more vile than those in Salem; and the death toll was far greater in Europe than America. The bulk of the book is anecdotal from trials, witch hunters, and a few skeptics. It is frustrating that there are no citations, which is just sloppy work, but routine for a muckraking writer. The stories are outlandish, funny, sad, horrifying, and overall entertaining. Entertainment is the purpose of the book, not scholarly inquiry. Readers will definitely reach a greater understanding of the witch craze in its many complexities whether overzealous churchmen, greedy grifters, greedy prelates and governors, petty revenge, the Reformation and political games between nation states. It is all there for the reader to pick a part in a casual and entertaining fashion.
I awarded an extra star because Cawthorne appears to have latched on to some ideas that are not often discussed in the more serious literature that he refers to as "further reading." One, the victims may have been disproportionately, female, but a lot of men were also consumed by the hysteria. The literature focuses on outcast women; but they were not the focus. Cawthorne cites case after case of wealthy or attractive women who were victims of the hysteria. Although he does not say it out loud, it seems clear that he is pushing readers to draw certain conclusions from his anecdotal examples. Another clear idea found in his narrative, but less common in the literature, is the economical motive for the witch hunts. Once again, he avoids directly saying it, but it shines through with his examples. Especially telling is the Bishop of Wurzburg prohibited (by whom?) from seizing any more property from "suspects" so as not to give the sense that theft was the primary factor rather than salvation for the accused....
In sum, it is an entertaining book. The editing is particularly sloppy. Other readers complain about the grammar and spelling errors that are so plentiful they are distracting. It is strange that such a prolific writer has so many errors, and that editors do not catch them. The citations are problematic. There are no citations which is very frustrating and irritating, especially if readers want to follow up on some of Cawthorne's noncommittal conclusions. Beyond those complaints, the book seems solid with no obvious content errors. It is entertaining and informative. It certainly offers a good overview of the witch craze.
The focus of this book is the witch craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries with a decided focus on Europe where thousands died. The opening chapter focuses on Salem, MA; but, in true Cawthorne style, it is a cursory overview of the allegations and outcomes. Some readers criticize Cawthorne for the brevity of the Salem witch hunt; but compared to Europe, there were very few deaths for the crime of witchcraft in America. Remember, Cawthorne seeks out and regurgitates scandal, sex, and death. If there are slim pickings, he will move onto something else.
He finds much more sensational material to work with in Europe. The people were just as superstitious; the witch hunters were much more vile than those in Salem; and the death toll was far greater in Europe than America. The bulk of the book is anecdotal from trials, witch hunters, and a few skeptics. It is frustrating that there are no citations, which is just sloppy work, but routine for a muckraking writer. The stories are outlandish, funny, sad, horrifying, and overall entertaining. Entertainment is the purpose of the book, not scholarly inquiry. Readers will definitely reach a greater understanding of the witch craze in its many complexities whether overzealous churchmen, greedy grifters, greedy prelates and governors, petty revenge, the Reformation and political games between nation states. It is all there for the reader to pick a part in a casual and entertaining fashion.
I awarded an extra star because Cawthorne appears to have latched on to some ideas that are not often discussed in the more serious literature that he refers to as "further reading." One, the victims may have been disproportionately, female, but a lot of men were also consumed by the hysteria. The literature focuses on outcast women; but they were not the focus. Cawthorne cites case after case of wealthy or attractive women who were victims of the hysteria. Although he does not say it out loud, it seems clear that he is pushing readers to draw certain conclusions from his anecdotal examples. Another clear idea found in his narrative, but less common in the literature, is the economical motive for the witch hunts. Once again, he avoids directly saying it, but it shines through with his examples. Especially telling is the Bishop of Wurzburg prohibited (by whom?) from seizing any more property from "suspects" so as not to give the sense that theft was the primary factor rather than salvation for the accused....
In sum, it is an entertaining book. The editing is particularly sloppy. Other readers complain about the grammar and spelling errors that are so plentiful they are distracting. It is strange that such a prolific writer has so many errors, and that editors do not catch them. The citations are problematic. There are no citations which is very frustrating and irritating, especially if readers want to follow up on some of Cawthorne's noncommittal conclusions. Beyond those complaints, the book seems solid with no obvious content errors. It is entertaining and informative. It certainly offers a good overview of the witch craze.
May 27, 2021
I knew very little about the persecution of those accused of witchcraft before picking up this book and was looking forward to expanding my knowledge outside of the trials that took place in the United States. The prologue left me with high hopes, as the author stated the intent was to present the information in a manner that would allow the reader the opportunity to draw their own conclusions from the information presented. As a result, I expected to be guided through the information in a thorough, comprehensive and sterile way; this was certainly not what I got.
First and foremost, the text is extremely difficult to read. It's almost presented as a stream of consciousness, stories and points bleeding into one another without pause that make it difficult to differentiate one set of circumstances from another. This is particularly bothersome in one chapter where each accused that wasn't named Sarah seemed to be named Elizabeth. I was left with the impression that the author was trying to be as thorough as possible with his references, but as each chapter was broken down by country, this left some cases being described in a single line. The result is that some sections feel incredibly rushed and dismissive of the stories being told. I appreciate the effort to provide as much information on those impacted as possible, but with the sheer number of people to examine, I truly wish fewer stories had been covered, or that all that were covered were given a more thorough examination.
It's also impossible to overlook the typos, grammatical errors, words left out of sentences, and fragmented sentences found in every chapter of this book. Count that along with the author's occasional interjection of asides and conclusions about what caused certain incidents and the book was a chore to get through.
However, I DID end up learning more than I knew before about witch trials, which is what I wanted out of the book. I did enjoy the formatting of breaking down the countries by chapter, which I think was a smart way to go about it; it definitely helped get across the scale of these scares. And when the text took the time to fully explore the story of a specific individual, the inclusion of letters between the family members really made the people involved more 'human'. It may be that not too many of these kinds of interactions survived to modern times and the author included what he could, but I did enjoy this when it popped up and wished there had been more of it!
The text is also unflinching about the specifics of what is confessed to and what was done to those accused; it was refreshing to have a text address this without euphemism and with no effort to gloss over the specifics. While unpleasant, the straightforward, blunt way that these aspects were presented were helpful in cementing how bizarre and terrifying both accusations and extractions of confessions must have been for the accused. I would strongly recommend that those with sensitivities towards depictions of sexual assault or practices and depictions of torture be prepared for this content to be covered in detail in almost every chapter of this book.
While I won't be recommending this book to anyone in my life, it has inspired me to look into other texts that cover this topic more than I thought it would. It includes a pretty extensive list of 'Further Reading' options that I will be checking out!
First and foremost, the text is extremely difficult to read. It's almost presented as a stream of consciousness, stories and points bleeding into one another without pause that make it difficult to differentiate one set of circumstances from another. This is particularly bothersome in one chapter where each accused that wasn't named Sarah seemed to be named Elizabeth. I was left with the impression that the author was trying to be as thorough as possible with his references, but as each chapter was broken down by country, this left some cases being described in a single line. The result is that some sections feel incredibly rushed and dismissive of the stories being told. I appreciate the effort to provide as much information on those impacted as possible, but with the sheer number of people to examine, I truly wish fewer stories had been covered, or that all that were covered were given a more thorough examination.
It's also impossible to overlook the typos, grammatical errors, words left out of sentences, and fragmented sentences found in every chapter of this book. Count that along with the author's occasional interjection of asides and conclusions about what caused certain incidents and the book was a chore to get through.
However, I DID end up learning more than I knew before about witch trials, which is what I wanted out of the book. I did enjoy the formatting of breaking down the countries by chapter, which I think was a smart way to go about it; it definitely helped get across the scale of these scares. And when the text took the time to fully explore the story of a specific individual, the inclusion of letters between the family members really made the people involved more 'human'. It may be that not too many of these kinds of interactions survived to modern times and the author included what he could, but I did enjoy this when it popped up and wished there had been more of it!
The text is also unflinching about the specifics of what is confessed to and what was done to those accused; it was refreshing to have a text address this without euphemism and with no effort to gloss over the specifics. While unpleasant, the straightforward, blunt way that these aspects were presented were helpful in cementing how bizarre and terrifying both accusations and extractions of confessions must have been for the accused. I would strongly recommend that those with sensitivities towards depictions of sexual assault or practices and depictions of torture be prepared for this content to be covered in detail in almost every chapter of this book.
While I won't be recommending this book to anyone in my life, it has inspired me to look into other texts that cover this topic more than I thought it would. It includes a pretty extensive list of 'Further Reading' options that I will be checking out!
June 23, 2022
1.5 stars (this is one book that makes me wish 1/2 stars were an option).
Where to begin…this book does have interesting information and the breakdown of witch hunts by countries is effective. However, the manner in which information is presented is not. The author seems to just list off records of people accused of being witches and occasionally interjects cultural information or attempts to convey a thesis. There is no clear thesis and this book would have been just as effective if the book contained bulleted stories (which is really not good). The transitions also fail as well as any connections to historiography. It does get tedious but the book is at least readable.
Perhaps the greatest sin of the book is the volume of spelling and grammatical errors. Another member of Goodreads mentioned there are errors on virtually every page. They’re not wrong—I had to look and confirm there was even an editor because most errors absolutely should have been caught by any half decent editor. There were also places where indents were randomly not used and it appears the Oxford comma is a novel concept.
Lastly, there are no sources mentioned nor notes; this is a grievous sin. How do we know this information is accurate? Where did tree author get their information? Credit needs to be given as well as the ability to trace back to the original source. This is how misinformation about historical events gets spread around in the public mindset and once there it’s hard to remove.
I do not recommend this read unless you need something with a lot of information and have a high tolerance for spelling and grammatical errors, as well as tolerance for little analysis.
Where to begin…this book does have interesting information and the breakdown of witch hunts by countries is effective. However, the manner in which information is presented is not. The author seems to just list off records of people accused of being witches and occasionally interjects cultural information or attempts to convey a thesis. There is no clear thesis and this book would have been just as effective if the book contained bulleted stories (which is really not good). The transitions also fail as well as any connections to historiography. It does get tedious but the book is at least readable.
Perhaps the greatest sin of the book is the volume of spelling and grammatical errors. Another member of Goodreads mentioned there are errors on virtually every page. They’re not wrong—I had to look and confirm there was even an editor because most errors absolutely should have been caught by any half decent editor. There were also places where indents were randomly not used and it appears the Oxford comma is a novel concept.
Lastly, there are no sources mentioned nor notes; this is a grievous sin. How do we know this information is accurate? Where did tree author get their information? Credit needs to be given as well as the ability to trace back to the original source. This is how misinformation about historical events gets spread around in the public mindset and once there it’s hard to remove.
I do not recommend this read unless you need something with a lot of information and have a high tolerance for spelling and grammatical errors, as well as tolerance for little analysis.
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