Witchland by Marion Gibson

Witchland by Marion Gibson

‘Terrifying, compulsive, wonderful’ Daily Mail, Book of the Week 

‘An immensely knowledgeable and engaging guide’ The Times

‘A remarkable feat of scholarship and empathy’ Shelley Puhak, author of The Blood Countess

‘Astounding . . . a tour-de-force of archival research’ Publishers Weekly

'As close to an eye-witness view of [British witch trials] as we are likely to get' Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch

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If the witchfinders came to your town, who would you have believed – and what would you have done?

In the 1640s, Britain was swept up in a brutal witch hunt. The economic uncertainty and religious extremism fuelled by the English Civil War created a climate of fear. Neighbours turned on each other. Women and the poor were especially vulnerable, scapegoated by the powerful looking for someone to blame. In the resulting hysteria – which would, just a few decades later, provide a handbook for the Salem trials – hundreds of innocent people were killed.

Moving from village to village in Scotland and England, Professor Marion Gibson reveals how accusations grew out of everyday tensions – poverty, grief, and resentment – and how entire communities took part in persecuting the vulnerable. Drawing on newly uncovered historical records, this gripping account restores the voices of those accused of witchcraft. Vivid and intimate, Witchland shows that these were ordinary people with extraordinary stories, largely forgotten by history, caught up in suspicion and moral panic.

Witchland is a captivating story of fanaticism, inequality and the violence that surfaces during times of political upheaval.

Marion Gibson is Emerita Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter. She’s been thinking about witches in history since she read her first account of a witch trial in a book lent to her on a dark, rainy afternoon thirty years ago. She was so excited by the story that she forgot to give the book back.

She is the author of nine books on witches in history and literature, most recently Witchcraft: A History in 13 Trials (Simon & Schuster) and The Witches of St Osyth (Cambridge University Press). She lives in Devon.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781398545144
ISBN 10	1398545147
Title	Witchland
Author	Marion Gibson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Ltd
Year published	2026-07-30
Number of pages	336
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.