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The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women
by Zoe Venditozzi, Claire Mitchell
Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and witches were the greatest enemy of all.
Scotland, 1563: Crops failed. People starved. And the Devil's influence was stronger than ever―at least, that's what everyone believed. If you were a woman living in Scotland during this turbulent time, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch.
During the chaos of the Reformation, violence against women was codified for the first time in the Witchcraft Act―a tool of theocratic control with one chilling goal: to root out witches and rid the land of evil. What followed was a dark and misogynistic chapter in history that fanned the flames of witch hunts across the globe, including in the United States and beyond.
In How to Kill a Witch, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, hosts of the popular Witches of Scotland podcast, unravel the grim yet absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying, and executing women as witches. With sharp wit and keen feminist insight, they reveal the inner workings of a patriarchal system designed to weaponize fear and oppress women.
This captivating (and often infuriating) account, which weaves a rich tapestry of trial transcripts, witness accounts, and the documents that set the legal grounds for the witch hunts, exposes how this violent period of history mirrors today's struggles for justice and equality. How to Kill a Witch is a powerful, darkly humorous reminder of the dangers of superstition, bias, and ignorance, and a warning to never forget the past…while raising the question of whether it could ever happen again.
"A lively tribute to the past's persecuted women and 'quarrelsome dames.'" —Publishers Weekly
"Fascinating and illuminating, this book tempers justifiable rage with sharp and funny pinpricks to the pompous." ―Val McDermid, author of Past Lying
"As well as highly entertaining read, How To Kill A Witch is a tour de force of research, understanding and compassion. What the world needs is more quarrelsome dames―and Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi are two of the best." ―Professor Sue Black, author of All That Remains
"A dignified, defiant memorial to thousands of ordinary women branded as witches and, all too often, put to death. Told with imagination and empathy, the stories in this book expose the tragedy of their lives, as well as the subordination, paranoia and cruelty responsible. Serious and angry, but so completely accessible, How To Kill A Witch is a work of real historical investigation and a fierce warning for our times." ―Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin Of All Witches
This information about How to Kill a Witch was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Zoe Venditozzi lives in NE Fife, Scotland and has worked in education for more than twenty years. Claire Mitchell, KC, works as a criminal lawyer. The authors are the creators of the Witches of Scotland podcast, and their work led to the First Minister of Scotland issuing a formal state apology in 2022 to all those accused of Witchcraft in Scotland―the first time in 300 years there had been any formal recognition of those who were wrongly accused.
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