Witchcraft by Malcolm Gaskill

Witchcraft by Malcolm Gaskill

Witchcraft is a subject that fascinates us all. Indeed, from childhood most of us develop some mental image of a witch--usually an old woman, mysterious and malignant. But why do witches still feature so heavily in our cultures and consciousness? From Halloween superstitions to literary references such as Faust and, of course, Harry Potter, witches seem ever-present in our lives. In this Very Short Introduction, Malcolm Gaskill takes a long historical perspective, from the ancient world to contemporary paganism. This is a book about the strangeness of the past, and about contrasts and change; but it's also about affinity and continuity. He reveals that witchcraft is multi-faceted, that it has always meant different things to different people, and that in every age it has raised questions about the distinction between fantasy and reality, faith and proof. Delving into court records, telling anecdotes, and challenging myths, Gaskill re-examines received wisdom, especially concerning the European witch-hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He also explores the modern memory and reinvention of witchcraft--as history, religion, fiction, and metaphor.

This pocket-book eloquently and clearly introduces and summarizes the theories and theorists of the historical study of witchcraftHis account is concise enough to stand alone, but also a great introduction to the work of other scholars in the field, with excellent recommended reading. * Journal of Folklore Research *
Each chapter in this small but perfectly-formed book could be the jumping-off point for a year's stimulating reading. Buy it now. * Fortean Times *

Malcolm Gaskill is Reader in Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia. Until 2007, he was Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Churchill College, Cambridge, before which he lectured at three other UK universities. An expert in the history of witchcraft, he has written extensively about beliefs, accusations, trials, and confessions, as well as about modern spiritualism. He is the author of three other books: Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England (2000) - shortlisted for the Longman/History Today Book of the Year award, 2000; Hellish Nell: Last of Britain's Witches (2001); and Witchfinders: a Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy (2005). In 2009 he was a Mayers Fellow at the Henry E. Huntington Library in San Marino, California, and is currently writing a book about English mentalities in seventeenth-century America. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780199236954
ISBN 10	019923695X
Title	Witchcraft
Author	Malcolm Gaskill
Series	Very Short Introductions
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2010-03-25
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.