Dark forces
The Last Witches of England: A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition by John Callow Bloomsbury, 352 pages, £25
John Callow’s history of a witchcraft case in late 17th-century England offers the compelling, lively and empathetic stories of three women charged in the north Devon town of Bideford. Often, these “witches” appear in historical accounts as stock figures: bogeywomen said to have killed their neighbours and worshipped the devil. But the best thing about The Last Witches of England – so called as they are labelled the last people to be hanged for witchcraft in England – is the partial biographical recovery of the three women: Temperance Lloyd, Susanna Edwards and Mary Trembles.
