Oliver Madox Hueffer

The Book of Witches Oliver Madox Hueffer

The witch occupies so large a place in the story of mankind that to include all the detail of her natural history within the limits of one volume would need the powers of a magician no less potent than was he who confined the Eastern Djinn in a bottle. While not attempting anything so ambitious as a large-scale map of Witchland, here Mr. Hueffer endeavours to show whence the witch came and why, as well as what she was and is; to point out, further, how necessary she is and must be to the happiness of mankind, and how great the responsibility of those who, disbelieving in her themselves, seek to infect others with their scepticism. First published in 1908, Mr. Hueffer's work is a fascinating and concise account of the history, practice, and persecution of witchcraft in its various forms both ancient and modern.