The Lit List – Witcherature

Ten of the best books about witches and witchcraft for Halloween. The witching hour is nigh, so grab your broomstick and fly to your nearest bookshop or library. Beware, my pretties, these books may cast a spell on you.

1. The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley (non-fiction). The infamous French witchcraft trial of priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns.
2. Among Others by Jo Walton. Fifteen-year-old Morwenna is an outsider at boarding school and finds comfort in books and magic.
3. Now She is Witch by Kirsty Logan. Dealing with loss and desiring revenge, two women join forces.
4. A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago. A reimagining of a scandalous Jacobean murder trial traces a dangerous friendship between two women.
5. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner. A middle-aged spinster moves to the country to escape her controlling relatives.
6. The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore. Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins scours Manningtree for any trace of witchcraft.
7. Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor. The witch is dead!
8. Circe by Madeline Miller. The enchantress of Greek mythology re-told.
9. Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver. An atmospheric gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl’s longing to fly free.
10. The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Salem Witch Trials as an allegory for McCarthyism in the United States.

Bubbling under in a bubble, bubble, toil and trouble kind of way

• The Witches of Vardø by Anya Bergman. Historical fiction based on the witch trials in 17th Century Norway.
• Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucie McKnight Hardy. Set in Wales during the 1976 heatwave, 16 year-old Nif finds solace in witchcraft.
• We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry. Jolly hockey sticks…broomsticks that is.
• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow. The Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem.
• The Change by Kirsten Miller. Menopausal madness.

If you liked this literary list, see here for more Lit Lists and book reviews.

Love reading? Want to meet like-minded people? Pop along to the Burton Book Club for novel chat.