WITCHLAND (HB)

Moving from village to village in Scotland and England, Professor Marion Gibson reveals how accusations of witchcraft grew out of everyday tensions – poverty, grief, and resentment – and how entire communities took part in persecuting the vulnerable. The economic uncertainty and religious extremism fuelled by the English Civil War created a climate of fear. 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.