Books of Interest: historical witchcraft, magic and early modern period

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*COVER IMAGE*	*TITLE*	*SYNOPIS OR REVIEW*
	Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736-1951 by Dr Owen Davies Buy it in the USA	Most studies of witchcraft and magic have been concerned with the era of the witch trials, a period which officially came to an end in Britain with the passing of the Witchcraft Act of 1736. However, the majority of people continued to fear witches and put their faith in magic long after this law was passed. This book traces the history of witchcraft and magic from 1736 to the year 1951, when the passing of the Fraudulent Mediums Act finally erased the concept of witchcraft from the statute books. This study examines the extent to which witchcraft, magic, and fortune telling influenced the thoughts and actions of the people of England and Wales in a period when the forces of "progress" are often thought to have vanquished such beliefs.
	Providence in Early Modern England by Dr Alexandra Walsham	In this wise and superbly illustrated book, Alexandra Walsham recalls the world where Calvinism met medieval religion ... Walsham pleasingly eschews postmodern indulgence of the fatuousness of past belief. She writes with a sure grasp of Reformation theology, and clearly had great fun with this book
		Witchcraft in Europe eds Alan kors and Edward peters uni o f pensylanaia press 0812217519
	Cunning-folk: Popular Magic in English History by Dr Owen Davies Buy it in the USA	Before insurance, a health service and modern science, cunning-folk played an important role in society. They helped find lost objects; advised how to escape from bad luck, cure illnesses or attract a lover. This enthralling and fascinating study shows how long their services were commonplace, from Anglo-Saxon times to the 20th century, and how widely they were used.
	Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Prof Ronald Hutton Buy it in the USA	From May Day revels and Midsummer fires, to Harvest Home, and Hallowe'en, to the twelve days of Christmas, Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. This comprehensive and engaging study covers the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day. He challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past, and debunks many myths surrounding festivals of the present, to illuminate the history of the calendar year we live by today.
	Early Modern Witches: Witchcraft Cases in contemporary writing... by Dr Marion Gibson Buy it in the USA	The 16 pamphlets collected here describe 15 English witchcraft cases in detail, vividly recreating events to give the reader the illusion of actually being present at witchcraft accusations, trials and hangings. But how much are we, as readers, victims of literary manipulation by the authors of these texts, and by accusers, magistrates and witches themselves? The pamphlets' texts are presented in an annotated format, so as to allow the reader to decide. Some of the pamphlets collected here appear in print for the first time in three centuries, whilst others are newly edited to give a clearer picture of sources, generic developments in writing about witchcraft, the chronologies of cases, and the biographies of the people who are trying to tell us their stories. The book will be of use to anyone interested in witchcraft, cultural history or literature. It combines original spelling editions of popular texts with scholarly annotation, and there are sections on further reading and sources for students as well as an introduction to each pamphlet.
	The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: their nature and legacy... by Prof Ronald Hutton Buy it in the USA	This book surveys religious beliefs in the British Isles from the Old Stone Age to the coming of Christianity. Hutton draws upon new data, much of it archaeological, that has transformed interpretation over the past decade. Giving more or less equal weight to all periods, from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, he considers a range of evidence for Celtic and Romano-British paganism: from burial sites, cairns, megaliths and causeways, to carvings, figurines, jewellery, weapons, votive objects, literary texts and folklore. The author reveals the important rethinking that has taken place over Christianization and the decline of Paganism, and reviews the progress that has been made in tracing the survival of pre-Christian beliefs and imagery into the Middle Ages. Hutton also shows how a host of received ideas have been demolished, and how the pagans of ancient Britain were far more creative, complex, enigmatic and dynamic than has previously been supposed.
	Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: King James Demonology and the North Berwick Witches by Drs Gareth Roberts and Lawrence Normand Buy it in the USA	King James' treatise was written at a period of dramatic change in Scottish witchcraft and after a period of intense prosecution in Scotland. It was republished in England in the year of James' accession to the English throne. This book offers a modernized, glossed and fully annotated edition of the "Daemonologie", the pamphlet "Newes from Scotland" and of manuscript material related to the trials of the North Berwick witches not available previously on print or only in early 19th-century editions. A substantial introduction reviews the importance of the trials in the last decade of the 16th century in Scotland, places them in the context of Renaissance thought and culture, and locates the King's treatise in the context of the contemporary demonological discussion to which the "Daemonologie" provided a useful introduction. Full annotations are provided.
	Reading Witchcraft: Stories of Early English Witches by Dr Marion Gibson Buy it in the USA	Exploring the stories told by and about "witches" and their "victims", this text questions what can be recovered from their trial records, early news books, pamphlets and personal accounts. In her wide-ranging selection of original sources, Marion Gibson seeks to discover the truthfulness of stories of witchcraft. Who told them and why? How were they recorded? And how might they have been distorted or stereotyped? This book looks closely at these legal documents and printed pamphlets and shows that their representations of witchcraft are far from straightforward. Even the simplest story can mask a complex creative process, which sometimes led to the deaths of innocent people. We are left with a record of the power of the human imagination.
	In Search of Zarathustra by Paul Kriwaaczek
	Sun-Symbolism and Cosmology in Michelangelo's "Last Judgment" (Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, V. 46) by Valerie Shrimplin Out-of-print in the UK Buy In USA0943549655	Michelangelo's famous painting "Last Judgement" is arguably one of the most important works ever created in the history of Western art. It is also the subject of Valerie Shrimplin's strikingly acute and original observations as she careful examines a wide range of both primary and secondary sources employing a comprehensive methodology, developing significant new research, and reaching fascinating and insightful conclusions respecting the cosmological symbolisms employed by Michelangelo. Sun Symbolism and Cosmology in Michelangelo's "Last Judgement" is an impressive work of considerable originality and scholarship, an invaluable and fascinating contribution to the study of Michelangelo's work and thought as representing by a single, major, and enduringly influential artistic achievement.
	The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance by Joscelyn Goodwin
	The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year 1400-1700... by Prof Ronald Hutton Buy it in the USA	Highly readable and entertaining, Ronald Hutton's acclaimed work is the first comprehensive account of the religious and secular rituals of late medieval and early modern England