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jmatkinson1's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.25
In the late medieval and early modern eras a belief in certain parts of magic was part of everyday life. Love potions, finding lost objects, a change of luck? Then people would see their local 'wise woman' or 'wizard'. However sometimes the desire for help veers over into black magic, danger or debt and crosses the line into illegal activities. Here Stanmore recounts how 'practical magic' was part of the everyday for people in all levels of society. The level of research is fabulous and the writing is very engaging.
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
A look at the use of magic in England from the fourteenth century onwards. So-called 'cunning folk' were used throughout these centuries to provide services such as finding missing items or people, providing love or fertility charms, curing illness, & even the odd get-rich-quick scheme. They were viewed as different to witches (who could also be either male or female), as witches were viewed as practising magic to do harm, whilst cunning folk were mainly thought to be trying to help.
This is an interesting & informative read with a lot of information packed into its pages. Personally, I felt that it became a little dry to read in places - the curse (pun intended) of academic work - but it always keeps the reader engaged enough to continue. The crossover with Catholicism & calling on the saints for aid was particularly interesting to me as was the evolution of the laws & societal viewpoints on magic which gradually shifted into something more malevolent & culminated in the witch trials. One slight let-down (which is not the author's fault) is that the records so often don't tell us what happened afterwards to the people involved in the cases discussed. Overall it was a very enjoyable read.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Vintage/Bodley Head, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
This is an interesting & informative read with a lot of information packed into its pages. Personally, I felt that it became a little dry to read in places - the curse (pun intended) of academic work - but it always keeps the reader engaged enough to continue. The crossover with Catholicism & calling on the saints for aid was particularly interesting to me as was the evolution of the laws & societal viewpoints on magic which gradually shifted into something more malevolent & culminated in the witch trials. One slight let-down (which is not the author's fault) is that the records so often don't tell us what happened afterwards to the people involved in the cases discussed. Overall it was a very enjoyable read.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Vintage/Bodley Head, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
purplemuskogee's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I have read a few books about witchcraft but this one deals with service magic as it was practiced in the Middle Ages - by regular people who were usually part of their community and sold their services to their neighbours.
The book is organised in different chapters and starts with Mabel Gray, who in 1637 travels across several London boroughs to seek help to find her list silver spoons. Magic then was "the fallback option when things went wrong - or even when life wasn't going as well as one might like". Tabitha Stanmore explains how to people at the time, magic was "a rational part of the supernatural universe in which they lived" - if angels and demons are real, magic could be real too. She gives many case studies of people using service magic, even the Church, and how magic was seen as more neutral than it became seen as in the 17 and 18 centuries.
It's a fascinating book showing how people at the time would ask for the help of their local magician when they wanted revenge, or a baby, or to improve their marriage, or to progress socially. It's well researched and also sympathetic to the ideas of the time and how they were part of a way of thinking that was accepting of magic - as a neutral vessel - and it's practitioners.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
The book is organised in different chapters and starts with Mabel Gray, who in 1637 travels across several London boroughs to seek help to find her list silver spoons. Magic then was "the fallback option when things went wrong - or even when life wasn't going as well as one might like". Tabitha Stanmore explains how to people at the time, magic was "a rational part of the supernatural universe in which they lived" - if angels and demons are real, magic could be real too. She gives many case studies of people using service magic, even the Church, and how magic was seen as more neutral than it became seen as in the 17 and 18 centuries.
It's a fascinating book showing how people at the time would ask for the help of their local magician when they wanted revenge, or a baby, or to improve their marriage, or to progress socially. It's well researched and also sympathetic to the ideas of the time and how they were part of a way of thinking that was accepting of magic - as a neutral vessel - and it's practitioners.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
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