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Witchfinders
Witchfinders
Paperback
Published:
24 April, 2006
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Description
'The most chilling witch-hunt in English history . . . fascinating' Independent on Sunday
'A terrible tale marvellously told . . . This is how history should be shown' Ronald Blythe
By the spring of 1645, civil war had exacted a terrible toll upon England. Disease was rife, apocalyptic omens appeared in the skies, and idolators detected in every shire. In a remote corner of Essex, two obscure gentlemen began interrogating women suspected of witchcraft, triggering the most brutal witch-hunt in English history.
Witchfinders is a spellbinding study of how Matthew Hopkins, 'the Witchfinder General', and John Stearne extended their campaign across East Anglia, driven by godly zeal. Exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times, and cheered on by ordinary folk, they extracted confessions of satanic pacts resulting in scores of executions.
'Lucid and humane' Hilary Mantel
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780719561214 |
| ISBN10 | 0719561213 |
| Number Of Pages | 384 |
| Item Weight | 264 g |
| Product Dimensions | 133 x 196 x 25 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | John Murray Press |
| Format | Paperback |
Media Reviews
Gives the ordinary reader a visceral sense of mid-seventeenth-century England . . . satisfyingly complex * Literary Review *
An evocative travelogue . . . setpieces of rich description * Times Literary Supplement *
Lucid and humane * Hilary Mantel *
The incessant peculiarity of the accusations could easily make the stories told in this book seem quaint rather than horrific. But Gaskill avoids this trap by describing each case in a vivid manner, making one aware at all times of the human tragedy * Craig Brown, Book of the Week, Mail on Sunday *
A terrible tale marvellously told . . . This is how history should be shown -- Ronald Blythe
Superb, chilling * Daily Telegraph *
A timely warning for those who think that witch trials are a matter of history * The Times *
A terrible tale marvellously told . . . this is how history should be known * the oldie *
A very lucid and human writer, very good at setting the social context, helping you understand how the phenomenon of witchfinders came out of the dislocation of the civil war * Independent on Sunday *
Gaskill tells the story of the witch-hunt in full and accurate detail, for the first time, and with uncommon skill . . . A solid contribution to knowledge and a splendid example of history as gripping literature * Ronald Hutton, Independent *
Malcolm Gaskill patiently untangles the history of East Anglian witchcraft * Guardian *
Written with sympathy, respect and deep human understanding * The Sunday Times *
Wonderfully detailed, well-written and judicious . . . tragic yet fascinating * Daily Telegraph *
A brilliant new study . . . In the vivid three-dimensionality of its dramatis personae, the eloquence of its writing, and the richness of its evocations of vanished worlds of landscape and belief . . . Gaskill displays a masterly wizardry all his own * John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph *
Fascinating * Daily Mail *
A chilling history of the witch-trials * History Today *
A fascinating history of the infamous witch-hunts . . . easily labelled as essential for anyone with an interest in the macabre . . . a good expose (and timely reminder) of how large-scale tragedies can occur once the right mix of circumstances are present * Irish Times *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Malcolm Gaskill was born in Suffolk but grew up in Kent. He attended Cambridge University where he read History. He completed a PhD on early modern England, then taught at Keele, Belfast and APU, before becoming Director of Studies in History at Churchill College, Cambridge, in 1999.