Englands Witchcraft Trials by Willow Winsham


Englands Witchcraft Trials
Title : Englands Witchcraft Trials
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1473870941
ISBN-10 : 9781473870949
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 168
Publication : Published November 16, 2018

Some 500 suspected witches were executed in England between the mid 15th and early 18th centuries, and many more put through gruelling trials. This book, with contemporary illustrations and photographs of important sites, tells of the most famous and large-scale of the trials including the Witches of Warboys, Pendle and Bideford and the exploits of the infamous Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins.

Englands Witchcraft Trials Reviews

  • Eli

    I mean, its a very compressed history as its fit in what? 100 pages or so? But its one thats not actually bored me to stop reading it entirely and finished within the week. The majority just repeat the same narrative but because i haven't seen many books on the English side of the witch trials it didn't seem too repeaty

  • G. Lawrence

    An interesting and balanced book, looking at an all too harrowing history of persecution and paranoia

  • Priya

    From the introduction -

    Between the period of 1563 and 1736, England saw the rise and fall of belief in, and persecution of, those suspected of witchcraft. Less than 500 executions took place for the crime during that period, and yet they are a large part of England’s history. (...) Often the facts of the past were rewritten or re-remembered and reinterpreted to fit a new situation, when the social, political, or religious tensions rose to boiling point and bubbled over. Perhaps in no other area of history are the very real fears, beliefs, and values of ordinary people so clearly highlighted, the trial accounts and testimonies providing a fascinating and insightful reflection of society as a whole.

  • Louise

    Really informative and educational

    I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the 'witches' and the trials. It's unbelievable to think we had such crazy laws back then. The author went into great detail in researching these stories and gave lots of information about the witches, cases and ultimate deaths. Highly informative!

  • Rosemarie

    Excellent book clearly describing events over a hundred year period from 1582 to 1682, during which approximately 300 people were hung for witchcraft in England. The five chapters each cover fairly well-known cases, although I'd only heard of two of them before reading this book.

  • Jane Love

    Could not put it down

  • Lynne

    Enjoyable and well-researched accounts of the very familiar - Pendle - with the less, such as the Bideford witch trials.

  • Emma

    2.5 stars