Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Until recently Wiccans--the name that present day witches prefer--used to claim that their religion was a recreation, even a continuation of ancient beliefs widespread in Europe before Christianity drove them out. Most of today's Wiccans are more honest, more ready to accept that theirs is a new religion, self-consciously created to serve a need not met by existing mainstream religions.

Ronald Hutton's The Triumph of he Moon is a history of modern pagan witchcraft, examining not only its origins half a century ago but the many ideas and enthusiasms of the last few centuries that paved the way for it. He finds powerful influences in 18th and 19th-century Freemasonry, 19th-century Rosicrucian-type societies, including the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, as well as in the tradition of wise women, dispensers of herbal remedies and folk wisdom. Interestingly, these last, who many Wiccans would see as the main forerunners of themselves, Hutton finds to have little real significance. With the benefit of scholarly insight, he also points out the unreliability of the most influential literary and / or supposedly academic works supporting the idea of ancient European religion, such as Charles Leland's Aradia, Margaret Murray's The Witch-Cult in Western Europe and The God of the Witches, J.G. Frazer's The Golden Bough and Robert Graves' The White Goddess.

Hutton, a regular contributor to TV documentaries about Neo-Pagansism, is Professor of History at Bristol University. The Triumph of the Moon is that rarity, a very readable academic book, which will be fascinating to anyone with an interest in the history of witchcraft. --David V. Barrett

Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Immensely detailed and riveting history of neo paganism , 11 Jul 2008
Profound and sympathetic knowledge permeates the whole of this superb history tracing the origins of modern pagan beliefs back to the eighteenth century.

The first part entitled "Macrocosm" examines each component part of the new religion and how it evolved into its final form. The second part entitled "Microcosm" is about the personalities, their rivalries, and the divergent nature of the outcomes.

Hutton is undoubtedly correct that neo paganism as known today is a modern construct, but although he is even handed in his treatment of the subject, one has to remind oneself when reading the book that there is undoubtedly an ancient precedent.

In addition Hutton closely observed and researched 21 covens comprising 213 practitioners and the results form a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable achievement.

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Dated and actually quite a bit biased?, 12 Jun 2008
Having just read Wicca Magickal Beginnings for the first time, I thought I would revisit Triumph of the Moon (and a few other works) to see what I think of it after all these years. I read Triumph of the Moon when it first came out you see and then I was relatively new to the world of paganism. My knowledge and understanding has grown quite a lot since then and I was surprised that I found many errors in the book which I never noticed the first time. Some of them have already been noted by other reviewers here so I won't go into detail.

All and all this is a great book, but it is a product of its time. I got the feeling that the author might have been a bit biased in places with the views he presented. It also in hindsight seemed really strange to me that he included large sections on authors such as Starhawk, who is clearly not connected to either British Paganism or to the Wicca of Gerald Gardner. So why include her? Just to be sarcastic and put her down? I am not a great fan of the work of American pagans in general, but it has to be said that Starhawk's material was hugely influential. By including her, the author is giving credit to her and promoting her approach which he clearly does not agree with in the first place. All the same, one has to concede that she did have an influence and therefore might be worthy of inclusion.

He other thing that struck me is that the author clearly set out to prove his point that Wicca is the only religion given by the UK to the rest of the world. How can this be true? What about Druidry? The Church of England? Aetherius? Celtic Christianity? Its a nice idea, but its not true and unfortunately now a great many people echo him in saying that it is the only religion given by the UK to the world! The power of the written word in the hands of those who follow, rather than think.

Read widely on the subject of your history, be it the history of your culture, religion or origins. Knowledge is power!

Brilliant. A book for open minds., 29 Feb 2008
Buy it. I've had this book for a couple of years and keep going back to it (rare for me with most the books on the craft I have.) Yeah Mr Hutton writes like the accademic he is and at times you'll feel like you're sat in a uni lecture but stick with it.

This book is nothing but information that the eager pagan mind can eat up. Blows the myths and all the 'fictional' history of the craft. My favourite part is the second section that deals with the history of modern witchcraft, at present, though that might change, I feel, with additional readings. I'm a cottage witch and keep feeling a urge to back and read the chapters on the cunning folk for the imformation I might have missed on the first few reads.

Don't buy it if you like the Llewllyn 'be a witch, power, power, power, learn spells rule the world.' DO BUY IT if you've out grown that kind of stuff and wan't to know where the 'real' modern wiccan movement originated from and the true pagan liniage of the craft.

A classic for the well read wiccan's library.

My tip: order some high-lighter pens as well for all those parts relevant to the craft you're interested in.

Those who aren't wiccan/pagan but interested, please read it. So much truth about England's folk lore you can't afford to miss it. This book shoots holes in many of the modern wiccan claims you'll love it as much as the objective wiccans who read it. You might also learn something from it about the bigotry, highlighted in the first part of the book, of those who were different or practiced the old folk methods as part of their heritage.

A blessing on Mr Hutton for telling the truth (all be long winded a times)

Fantastic!, 29 May 2006
Hutton's treatment of the history of modern Paganism not only clarified the facts about paganism as a whole, it also gave me a greater understanding of what draws me to paganism. He sweeps away some of the myths around modern Paganism while recognising it as a valid spirituality. I thoroughly recommend this book to any Pagan, or indeed to any non-Pagan.

Fab & Must Read, 11 Sep 2005
It took me a long time to read this book and then I had to go back and start all over again.

There is simply no doubt that this book is a must read for anyone interested in and everyone practicing Wicca today. Get a copy, read it and keep it for reference. It provides not just an overview of the history of the people and places, but also useful information which may help you reconstruct rituals. (Although not intended in that way)

Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Immensely detailed and riveting history of neo paganism , 11 Jul 2008
Profound and sympathetic knowledge permeates the whole of this superb history tracing the origins of modern pagan beliefs back to the eighteenth century.

The first part entitled "Macrocosm" examines each component part of the new religion and how it evolved into its final form. The second part entitled "Microcosm" is about the personalities, their rivalries, and the divergent nature of the outcomes.

Hutton is undoubtedly correct that neo paganism as known today is a modern construct, but although he is even handed in his treatment of the subject, one has to remind oneself when reading the book that there is undoubtedly an ancient precedent.

In addition Hutton closely observed and researched 21 covens comprising 213 practitioners and the results form a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable achievement.

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Dated and actually quite a bit biased?, 12 Jun 2008
Having just read Wicca Magickal Beginnings for the first time, I thought I would revisit Triumph of the Moon (and a few other works) to see what I think of it after all these years. I read Triumph of the Moon when it first came out you see and then I was relatively new to the world of paganism. My knowledge and understanding has grown quite a lot since then and I was surprised that I found many errors in the book which I never noticed the first time. Some of them have already been noted by other reviewers here so I won't go into detail.

All and all this is a great book, but it is a product of its time. I got the feeling that the author might have been a bit biased in places with the views he presented. It also in hindsight seemed really strange to me that he included large sections on authors such as Starhawk, who is clearly not connected to either British Paganism or to the Wicca of Gerald Gardner. So why include her? Just to be sarcastic and put her down? I am not a great fan of the work of American pagans in general, but it has to be said that Starhawk's material was hugely influential. By including her, the author is giving credit to her and promoting her approach which he clearly does not agree with in the first place. All the same, one has to concede that she did have an influence and therefore might be worthy of inclusion.

He other thing that struck me is that the author clearly set out to prove his point that Wicca is the only religion given by the UK to the rest of the world. How can this be true? What about Druidry? The Church of England? Aetherius? Celtic Christianity? Its a nice idea, but its not true and unfortunately now a great many people echo him in saying that it is the only religion given by the UK to the world! The power of the written word in the hands of those who follow, rather than think.

Read widely on the subject of your history, be it the history of your culture, religion or origins. Knowledge is power!

Brilliant. A book for open minds., 29 Feb 2008
Buy it. I've had this book for a couple of years and keep going back to it (rare for me with most the books on the craft I have.) Yeah Mr Hutton writes like the accademic he is and at times you'll feel like you're sat in a uni lecture but stick with it.

This book is nothing but information that the eager pagan mind can eat up. Blows the myths and all the 'fictional' history of the craft. My favourite part is the second section that deals with the history of modern witchcraft, at present, though that might change, I feel, with additional readings. I'm a cottage witch and keep feeling a urge to back and read the chapters on the cunning folk for the imformation I might have missed on the first few reads.

Don't buy it if you like the Llewllyn 'be a witch, power, power, power, learn spells rule the world.' DO BUY IT if you've out grown that kind of stuff and wan't to know where the 'real' modern wiccan movement originated from and the true pagan liniage of the craft.

A classic for the well read wiccan's library.

My tip: order some high-lighter pens as well for all those parts relevant to the craft you're interested in.

Those who aren't wiccan/pagan but interested, please read it. So much truth about England's folk lore you can't afford to miss it. This book shoots holes in many of the modern wiccan claims you'll love it as much as the objective wiccans who read it. You might also learn something from it about the bigotry, highlighted in the first part of the book, of those who were different or practiced the old folk methods as part of their heritage.

A blessing on Mr Hutton for telling the truth (all be long winded a times)

Fantastic!, 29 May 2006
Hutton's treatment of the history of modern Paganism not only clarified the facts about paganism as a whole, it also gave me a greater understanding of what draws me to paganism. He sweeps away some of the myths around modern Paganism while recognising it as a valid spirituality. I thoroughly recommend this book to any Pagan, or indeed to any non-Pagan.

Fab & Must Read, 11 Sep 2005
It took me a long time to read this book and then I had to go back and start all over again.

There is simply no doubt that this book is a must read for anyone interested in and everyone practicing Wicca today. Get a copy, read it and keep it for reference. It provides not just an overview of the history of the people and places, but also useful information which may help you reconstruct rituals. (Although not intended in that way)

Tosh, 27 Jun 2008
I had to review this, despite the many reviews it's got already, because it exasperated me so much. It's mind-candy. It's quite good quality mind-candy, but there's not much nourishment to be had from it. It never quite had me hiding under the covers, because I just couldn't believe in it all.

Maybe that was because I'm pretty familiar with its setting. Now, if you're going to set a book somewhere real, shouldn't you be true to that location? Take it from me: Manningtree doesn't have a cute Georgian rectory. Far from it: the rector was long ago banished to a 1980's box. But everyone knows that country towns are quaint and insular and have Georgian rectories, and so the rector here must have one too. What this tells us is that this is a book based solidly on stereotypes.

If you want an easy read which won't demand much from you in the way of thought, this is fine. If you'd prefer something with a bit of texture to it, you might want to find something else.

scary!, 24 Jun 2008
again, I found this book difficult to put down once I'd started it. I'm quite interested in this whole period of history, and I'd heard of Matthew Hopkins, so was curious to see how Barbara Erskine would treat him as a character in her books. Sometimes the plot would switch from present to past and I found it difficult in places to keep up, but managed to catch up eventually. Quite a dark plot and unlike her other books but all the same I really enjoyed it.

do not read alone, 09 Oct 2007
This book was quite scary and as i was alone i found it very spookie, in a nice way, life suspended, nothing got done, i could not put it down, sheer escapism.

Its a Wow Book, 03 Aug 2007
I have many of Barbara's books, and I find them all brilliant, okay in places some can be a bit scary, but generally she has a good depth of understanding with regard to the history, ie in this book the Witch Finder General and horrors at that time. I found the book gripping and loved getting into the characters. Its a good book for spending spare time engrossed perhaps when on holiday, but don't expect to get anything done! because time just flies past. So go on prepare to be entertained, for the sake of around a fiver that can't be bad.

Yes, there are ghosties and beasties and things that go bump in the night!, 27 Mar 2007
What fun! Safe to read at home, but if I was staying at a hotel/home/building/ that was reputed to be haunted, I'd save this one for later.

It took a good couple of hundred pages to set the scenes and the characters, but then things took off and I couldn't put the book down. In some ways I can see cutting some of those characters and still keep the main story, but I loved the whole book anyway.

Don't let the page count deter you, the paperback was 700+ but with so many short chapters, leaving half pages blank leading into the next chapter, it was a very quick, albeit enjoyable read.

Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Immensely detailed and riveting history of neo paganism , 11 Jul 2008
Profound and sympathetic knowledge permeates the whole of this superb history tracing the origins of modern pagan beliefs back to the eighteenth century.

The first part entitled "Macrocosm" examines each component part of the new religion and how it evolved into its final form. The second part entitled "Microcosm" is about the personalities, their rivalries, and the divergent nature of the outcomes.

Hutton is undoubtedly correct that neo paganism as known today is a modern construct, but although he is even handed in his treatment of the subject, one has to remind oneself when reading the book that there is undoubtedly an ancient precedent.

In addition Hutton closely observed and researched 21 covens comprising 213 practitioners and the results form a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable achievement.

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Dated and actually quite a bit biased?, 12 Jun 2008
Having just read Wicca Magickal Beginnings for the first time, I thought I would revisit Triumph of the Moon (and a few other works) to see what I think of it after all these years. I read Triumph of the Moon when it first came out you see and then I was relatively new to the world of paganism. My knowledge and understanding has grown quite a lot since then and I was surprised that I found many errors in the book which I never noticed the first time. Some of them have already been noted by other reviewers here so I won't go into detail.

All and all this is a great book, but it is a product of its time. I got the feeling that the author might have been a bit biased in places with the views he presented. It also in hindsight seemed really strange to me that he included large sections on authors such as Starhawk, who is clearly not connected to either British Paganism or to the Wicca of Gerald Gardner. So why include her? Just to be sarcastic and put her down? I am not a great fan of the work of American pagans in general, but it has to be said that Starhawk's material was hugely influential. By including her, the author is giving credit to her and promoting her approach which he clearly does not agree with in the first place. All the same, one has to concede that she did have an influence and therefore might be worthy of inclusion.

He other thing that struck me is that the author clearly set out to prove his point that Wicca is the only religion given by the UK to the rest of the world. How can this be true? What about Druidry? The Church of England? Aetherius? Celtic Christianity? Its a nice idea, but its not true and unfortunately now a great many people echo him in saying that it is the only religion given by the UK to the world! The power of the written word in the hands of those who follow, rather than think.

Read widely on the subject of your history, be it the history of your culture, religion or origins. Knowledge is power!

Brilliant. A book for open minds., 29 Feb 2008
Buy it. I've had this book for a couple of years and keep going back to it (rare for me with most the books on the craft I have.) Yeah Mr Hutton writes like the accademic he is and at times you'll feel like you're sat in a uni lecture but stick with it.

This book is nothing but information that the eager pagan mind can eat up. Blows the myths and all the 'fictional' history of the craft. My favourite part is the second section that deals with the history of modern witchcraft, at present, though that might change, I feel, with additional readings. I'm a cottage witch and keep feeling a urge to back and read the chapters on the cunning folk for the imformation I might have missed on the first few reads.

Don't buy it if you like the Llewllyn 'be a witch, power, power, power, learn spells rule the world.' DO BUY IT if you've out grown that kind of stuff and wan't to know where the 'real' modern wiccan movement originated from and the true pagan liniage of the craft.

A classic for the well read wiccan's library.

My tip: order some high-lighter pens as well for all those parts relevant to the craft you're interested in.

Those who aren't wiccan/pagan but interested, please read it. So much truth about England's folk lore you can't afford to miss it. This book shoots holes in many of the modern wiccan claims you'll love it as much as the objective wiccans who read it. You might also learn something from it about the bigotry, highlighted in the first part of the book, of those who were different or practiced the old folk methods as part of their heritage.

A blessing on Mr Hutton for telling the truth (all be long winded a times)

Fantastic!, 29 May 2006
Hutton's treatment of the history of modern Paganism not only clarified the facts about paganism as a whole, it also gave me a greater understanding of what draws me to paganism. He sweeps away some of the myths around modern Paganism while recognising it as a valid spirituality. I thoroughly recommend this book to any Pagan, or indeed to any non-Pagan.

Fab & Must Read, 11 Sep 2005
It took me a long time to read this book and then I had to go back and start all over again.

There is simply no doubt that this book is a must read for anyone interested in and everyone practicing Wicca today. Get a copy, read it and keep it for reference. It provides not just an overview of the history of the people and places, but also useful information which may help you reconstruct rituals. (Although not intended in that way)

Tosh, 27 Jun 2008
I had to review this, despite the many reviews it's got already, because it exasperated me so much. It's mind-candy. It's quite good quality mind-candy, but there's not much nourishment to be had from it. It never quite had me hiding under the covers, because I just couldn't believe in it all.

Maybe that was because I'm pretty familiar with its setting. Now, if you're going to set a book somewhere real, shouldn't you be true to that location? Take it from me: Manningtree doesn't have a cute Georgian rectory. Far from it: the rector was long ago banished to a 1980's box. But everyone knows that country towns are quaint and insular and have Georgian rectories, and so the rector here must have one too. What this tells us is that this is a book based solidly on stereotypes.

If you want an easy read which won't demand much from you in the way of thought, this is fine. If you'd prefer something with a bit of texture to it, you might want to find something else.

scary!, 24 Jun 2008
again, I found this book difficult to put down once I'd started it. I'm quite interested in this whole period of history, and I'd heard of Matthew Hopkins, so was curious to see how Barbara Erskine would treat him as a character in her books. Sometimes the plot would switch from present to past and I found it difficult in places to keep up, but managed to catch up eventually. Quite a dark plot and unlike her other books but all the same I really enjoyed it.

do not read alone, 09 Oct 2007
This book was quite scary and as i was alone i found it very spookie, in a nice way, life suspended, nothing got done, i could not put it down, sheer escapism.

Its a Wow Book, 03 Aug 2007
I have many of Barbara's books, and I find them all brilliant, okay in places some can be a bit scary, but generally she has a good depth of understanding with regard to the history, ie in this book the Witch Finder General and horrors at that time. I found the book gripping and loved getting into the characters. Its a good book for spending spare time engrossed perhaps when on holiday, but don't expect to get anything done! because time just flies past. So go on prepare to be entertained, for the sake of around a fiver that can't be bad.

Yes, there are ghosties and beasties and things that go bump in the night!, 27 Mar 2007
What fun! Safe to read at home, but if I was staying at a hotel/home/building/ that was reputed to be haunted, I'd save this one for later.

It took a good couple of hundred pages to set the scenes and the characters, but then things took off and I couldn't put the book down. In some ways I can see cutting some of those characters and still keep the main story, but I loved the whole book anyway.

Don't let the page count deter you, the paperback was 700+ but with so many short chapters, leaving half pages blank leading into the next chapter, it was a very quick, albeit enjoyable read.


A brilliant book on a disturbed era of English history!, 30 Sep 2005
Having a large interest in the local history of East Anglia I immediately became absorbed into this book. The writing style is a perfect balance of facts, quotes, political background information in relation to the Civil War, religious views of the times and objective research by the author, making this a joy to read. The pages turned a lot faster than normal for a book set in this era!

The book follows the rise AND fall of the famous Witchfinders, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne from their large scale witch hunts in the 1640's. Starting in their local area of Manningtree in Essex and spreading, like the contempory and proverbial plague, through into Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntinghdonshire and Cambridgeshire and further, with ultimate influence on the witch hunts in America.

The personal details of the witchfinders characters and views along with their methods of finding witches is just compelling reading. Most of the time the reader will feel many emotions, from suprise and incredulity at the so-called confessions of witches to utter disbelief and revulsion at how people such as judges and jurors sentenced these confused and often poor women AND men for execution from such peculiar methods of proof from the witchfinders.

The book concludes, telling of how the two main witchfinders ended their days, and what legacy they left behind in society. With a neat little conclusion on how far humanity has come and that some countries still use witch hunts.
An excellent read! 5 Stars!

Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Immensely detailed and riveting history of neo paganism , 11 Jul 2008
Profound and sympathetic knowledge permeates the whole of this superb history tracing the origins of modern pagan beliefs back to the eighteenth century.

The first part entitled "Macrocosm" examines each component part of the new religion and how it evolved into its final form. The second part entitled "Microcosm" is about the personalities, their rivalries, and the divergent nature of the outcomes.

Hutton is undoubtedly correct that neo paganism as known today is a modern construct, but although he is even handed in his treatment of the subject, one has to remind oneself when reading the book that there is undoubtedly an ancient precedent.

In addition Hutton closely observed and researched 21 covens comprising 213 practitioners and the results form a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable achievement.

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Dated and actually quite a bit biased?, 12 Jun 2008
Having just read Wicca Magickal Beginnings for the first time, I thought I would revisit Triumph of the Moon (and a few other works) to see what I think of it after all these years. I read Triumph of the Moon when it first came out you see and then I was relatively new to the world of paganism. My knowledge and understanding has grown quite a lot since then and I was surprised that I found many errors in the book which I never noticed the first time. Some of them have already been noted by other reviewers here so I won't go into detail.

All and all this is a great book, but it is a product of its time. I got the feeling that the author might have been a bit biased in places with the views he presented. It also in hindsight seemed really strange to me that he included large sections on authors such as Starhawk, who is clearly not connected to either British Paganism or to the Wicca of Gerald Gardner. So why include her? Just to be sarcastic and put her down? I am not a great fan of the work of American pagans in general, but it has to be said that Starhawk's material was hugely influential. By including her, the author is giving credit to her and promoting her approach which he clearly does not agree with in the first place. All the same, one has to concede that she did have an influence and therefore might be worthy of inclusion.

He other thing that struck me is that the author clearly set out to prove his point that Wicca is the only religion given by the UK to the rest of the world. How can this be true? What about Druidry? The Church of England? Aetherius? Celtic Christianity? Its a nice idea, but its not true and unfortunately now a great many people echo him in saying that it is the only religion given by the UK to the world! The power of the written word in the hands of those who follow, rather than think.

Read widely on the subject of your history, be it the history of your culture, religion or origins. Knowledge is power!

Brilliant. A book for open minds., 29 Feb 2008
Buy it. I've had this book for a couple of years and keep going back to it (rare for me with most the books on the craft I have.) Yeah Mr Hutton writes like the accademic he is and at times you'll feel like you're sat in a uni lecture but stick with it.

This book is nothing but information that the eager pagan mind can eat up. Blows the myths and all the 'fictional' history of the craft. My favourite part is the second section that deals with the history of modern witchcraft, at present, though that might change, I feel, with additional readings. I'm a cottage witch and keep feeling a urge to back and read the chapters on the cunning folk for the imformation I might have missed on the first few reads.

Don't buy it if you like the Llewllyn 'be a witch, power, power, power, learn spells rule the world.' DO BUY IT if you've out grown that kind of stuff and wan't to know where the 'real' modern wiccan movement originated from and the true pagan liniage of the craft.

A classic for the well read wiccan's library.

My tip: order some high-lighter pens as well for all those parts relevant to the craft you're interested in.

Those who aren't wiccan/pagan but interested, please read it. So much truth about England's folk lore you can't afford to miss it. This book shoots holes in many of the modern wiccan claims you'll love it as much as the objective wiccans who read it. You might also learn something from it about the bigotry, highlighted in the first part of the book, of those who were different or practiced the old folk methods as part of their heritage.

A blessing on Mr Hutton for telling the truth (all be long winded a times)

Fantastic!, 29 May 2006
Hutton's treatment of the history of modern Paganism not only clarified the facts about paganism as a whole, it also gave me a greater understanding of what draws me to paganism. He sweeps away some of the myths around modern Paganism while recognising it as a valid spirituality. I thoroughly recommend this book to any Pagan, or indeed to any non-Pagan.

Fab & Must Read, 11 Sep 2005
It took me a long time to read this book and then I had to go back and start all over again.

There is simply no doubt that this book is a must read for anyone interested in and everyone practicing Wicca today. Get a copy, read it and keep it for reference. It provides not just an overview of the history of the people and places, but also useful information which may help you reconstruct rituals. (Although not intended in that way)

Tosh, 27 Jun 2008
I had to review this, despite the many reviews it's got already, because it exasperated me so much. It's mind-candy. It's quite good quality mind-candy, but there's not much nourishment to be had from it. It never quite had me hiding under the covers, because I just couldn't believe in it all.

Maybe that was because I'm pretty familiar with its setting. Now, if you're going to set a book somewhere real, shouldn't you be true to that location? Take it from me: Manningtree doesn't have a cute Georgian rectory. Far from it: the rector was long ago banished to a 1980's box. But everyone knows that country towns are quaint and insular and have Georgian rectories, and so the rector here must have one too. What this tells us is that this is a book based solidly on stereotypes.

If you want an easy read which won't demand much from you in the way of thought, this is fine. If you'd prefer something with a bit of texture to it, you might want to find something else.

scary!, 24 Jun 2008
again, I found this book difficult to put down once I'd started it. I'm quite interested in this whole period of history, and I'd heard of Matthew Hopkins, so was curious to see how Barbara Erskine would treat him as a character in her books. Sometimes the plot would switch from present to past and I found it difficult in places to keep up, but managed to catch up eventually. Quite a dark plot and unlike her other books but all the same I really enjoyed it.

do not read alone, 09 Oct 2007
This book was quite scary and as i was alone i found it very spookie, in a nice way, life suspended, nothing got done, i could not put it down, sheer escapism.

Its a Wow Book, 03 Aug 2007
I have many of Barbara's books, and I find them all brilliant, okay in places some can be a bit scary, but generally she has a good depth of understanding with regard to the history, ie in this book the Witch Finder General and horrors at that time. I found the book gripping and loved getting into the characters. Its a good book for spending spare time engrossed perhaps when on holiday, but don't expect to get anything done! because time just flies past. So go on prepare to be entertained, for the sake of around a fiver that can't be bad.

Yes, there are ghosties and beasties and things that go bump in the night!, 27 Mar 2007
What fun! Safe to read at home, but if I was staying at a hotel/home/building/ that was reputed to be haunted, I'd save this one for later.

It took a good couple of hundred pages to set the scenes and the characters, but then things took off and I couldn't put the book down. In some ways I can see cutting some of those characters and still keep the main story, but I loved the whole book anyway.

Don't let the page count deter you, the paperback was 700+ but with so many short chapters, leaving half pages blank leading into the next chapter, it was a very quick, albeit enjoyable read.


A brilliant book on a disturbed era of English history!, 30 Sep 2005
Having a large interest in the local history of East Anglia I immediately became absorbed into this book. The writing style is a perfect balance of facts, quotes, political background information in relation to the Civil War, religious views of the times and objective research by the author, making this a joy to read. The pages turned a lot faster than normal for a book set in this era!

The book follows the rise AND fall of the famous Witchfinders, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne from their large scale witch hunts in the 1640's. Starting in their local area of Manningtree in Essex and spreading, like the contempory and proverbial plague, through into Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntinghdonshire and Cambridgeshire and further, with ultimate influence on the witch hunts in America.

The personal details of the witchfinders characters and views along with their methods of finding witches is just compelling reading. Most of the time the reader will feel many emotions, from suprise and incredulity at the so-called confessions of witches to utter disbelief and revulsion at how people such as judges and jurors sentenced these confused and often poor women AND men for execution from such peculiar methods of proof from the witchfinders.

The book concludes, telling of how the two main witchfinders ended their days, and what legacy they left behind in society. With a neat little conclusion on how far humanity has come and that some countries still use witch hunts.
An excellent read! 5 Stars!

"Thy lady hath forgotten to be kind...", 13 May 2008
The King's Grey Mare is a lovely, bewitching read even if you haven't read about the Wars of the Roses before; it's not as politics-focused as many other books dealing with this period.

The author says she wanted to portray Elizabeth neither as villain or victim. I think she succeeds in making Elizabeth a rounded character, although some of the actions ascribed to her in this novel are pretty awful. I was initially put off by the talk of "evil witches" on the back cover; the old witchery rumours are a bit of a cliche when it comes to La Woodville. Luckily, Rosemary Hawley Jarman is a better, more sensitive writer than whoever wrote the blurb for her book!

The first part of the book follows Elizabeth Woodville as a young girl, a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VI and Marguerite d'Anjou and a blissful young bride. Then she is sent home a widow, where her mother Jacquetta sets her sights on a new son-in-law, the new young Yorkist King. The young Elizabeth could be fiery when she had to be, but she often didn't have to be. But with grief closing over her and the obsession of revenge upon the Earl of Warwick, she becomes proud and ruthless. As Elizabeth becomes less and less sympathetic, we see more of Grace, Edward IV's illegitimate daughter, who is a kind of foil to Elizabeth. Grace is to fall in love with John of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Richard III, forming a touching sub-plot, but she can't help herself from loving Elizabeth.

What I loved most about this book was the author's style of writing. Her vocabulary is huge and she has a real eye for detail, as well as a knack for a pretty phrase. I've heard her style described as "flowery", and it's certainly not the more modern, Philippa Gregory style of historical fiction. So, I guess it's not to everyone's taste. Her best known work is her first novel, We Speak No Treason, and although I found the writing there beautiful, the multiple-narrator structure dragged quite a bit and the dialogue seemed overly melodramatic. However, I was very pleasantly surprised with The King's Grey Mare. Perhaps experience had tightened up her abilities, or perhaps the classic novel type suits her better.

My favourite parts were in the earlier part of the book; Edward IV barrelling through the forest on a hunt, the legend of Melusine, the bliss of Bradgate, the court of the young and lovely Queen Marguerite. Places where the author's imagination has free rein. Perhaps predictably, the better documented parts of history, the machinations of politics, fall a little flat compared to the more magical parts of the novel. However, the final part of the book, which is set post-Bosworth where Henry Tudor is king, is gripping. It's unusual for a novel set in this period to spend much time, if any, after the fall of the Plantagenets. But if you've ever wondered exactly what happened to Elizabeth under Tudor rule, this book offers to fill in the gaps. Of course, there are some things we will never know the truth about, but Rosemary Hawley Jarman's explanation makes for an arresting conclusion.

Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Immensely detailed and riveting history of neo paganism , 11 Jul 2008
Profound and sympathetic knowledge permeates the whole of this superb history tracing the origins of modern pagan beliefs back to the eighteenth century.

The first part entitled "Macrocosm" examines each component part of the new religion and how it evolved into its final form. The second part entitled "Microcosm" is about the personalities, their rivalries, and the divergent nature of the outcomes.

Hutton is undoubtedly correct that neo paganism as known today is a modern construct, but although he is even handed in his treatment of the subject, one has to remind oneself when reading the book that there is undoubtedly an ancient precedent.

In addition Hutton closely observed and researched 21 covens comprising 213 practitioners and the results form a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable achievement.

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Dated and actually quite a bit biased?, 12 Jun 2008
Having just read Wicca Magickal Beginnings for the first time, I thought I would revisit Triumph of the Moon (and a few other works) to see what I think of it after all these years. I read Triumph of the Moon when it first came out you see and then I was relatively new to the world of paganism. My knowledge and understanding has grown quite a lot since then and I was surprised that I found many errors in the book which I never noticed the first time. Some of them have already been noted by other reviewers here so I won't go into detail.

All and all this is a great book, but it is a product of its time. I got the feeling that the author might have been a bit biased in places with the views he presented. It also in hindsight seemed really strange to me that he included large sections on authors such as Starhawk, who is clearly not connected to either British Paganism or to the Wicca of Gerald Gardner. So why include her? Just to be sarcastic and put her down? I am not a great fan of the work of American pagans in general, but it has to be said that Starhawk's material was hugely influential. By including her, the author is giving credit to her and promoting her approach which he clearly does not agree with in the first place. All the same, one has to concede that she did have an influence and therefore might be worthy of inclusion.

He other thing that struck me is that the author clearly set out to prove his point that Wicca is the only religion given by the UK to the rest of the world. How can this be true? What about Druidry? The Church of England? Aetherius? Celtic Christianity? Its a nice idea, but its not true and unfortunately now a great many people echo him in saying that it is the only religion given by the UK to the world! The power of the written word in the hands of those who follow, rather than think.

Read widely on the subject of your history, be it the history of your culture, religion or origins. Knowledge is power!

Brilliant. A book for open minds., 29 Feb 2008
Buy it. I've had this book for a couple of years and keep going back to it (rare for me with most the books on the craft I have.) Yeah Mr Hutton writes like the accademic he is and at times you'll feel like you're sat in a uni lecture but stick with it.

This book is nothing but information that the eager pagan mind can eat up. Blows the myths and all the 'fictional' history of the craft. My favourite part is the second section that deals with the history of modern witchcraft, at present, though that might change, I feel, with additional readings. I'm a cottage witch and keep feeling a urge to back and read the chapters on the cunning folk for the imformation I might have missed on the first few reads.

Don't buy it if you like the Llewllyn 'be a witch, power, power, power, learn spells rule the world.' DO BUY IT if you've out grown that kind of stuff and wan't to know where the 'real' modern wiccan movement originated from and the true pagan liniage of the craft.

A classic for the well read wiccan's library.

My tip: order some high-lighter pens as well for all those parts relevant to the craft you're interested in.

Those who aren't wiccan/pagan but interested, please read it. So much truth about England's folk lore you can't afford to miss it. This book shoots holes in many of the modern wiccan claims you'll love it as much as the objective wiccans who read it. You might also learn something from it about the bigotry, highlighted in the first part of the book, of those who were different or practiced the old folk methods as part of their heritage.

A blessing on Mr Hutton for telling the truth (all be long winded a times)

Fantastic!, 29 May 2006
Hutton's treatment of the history of modern Paganism not only clarified the facts about paganism as a whole, it also gave me a greater understanding of what draws me to paganism. He sweeps away some of the myths around modern Paganism while recognising it as a valid spirituality. I thoroughly recommend this book to any Pagan, or indeed to any non-Pagan.

Fab & Must Read, 11 Sep 2005
It took me a long time to read this book and then I had to go back and start all over again.

There is simply no doubt that this book is a must read for anyone interested in and everyone practicing Wicca today. Get a copy, read it and keep it for reference. It provides not just an overview of the history of the people and places, but also useful information which may help you reconstruct rituals. (Although not intended in that way)

Tosh, 27 Jun 2008
I had to review this, despite the many reviews it's got already, because it exasperated me so much. It's mind-candy. It's quite good quality mind-candy, but there's not much nourishment to be had from it. It never quite had me hiding under the covers, because I just couldn't believe in it all.

Maybe that was because I'm pretty familiar with its setting. Now, if you're going to set a book somewhere real, shouldn't you be true to that location? Take it from me: Manningtree doesn't have a cute Georgian rectory. Far from it: the rector was long ago banished to a 1980's box. But everyone knows that country towns are quaint and insular and have Georgian rectories, and so the rector here must have one too. What this tells us is that this is a book based solidly on stereotypes.

If you want an easy read which won't demand much from you in the way of thought, this is fine. If you'd prefer something with a bit of texture to it, you might want to find something else.

scary!, 24 Jun 2008
again, I found this book difficult to put down once I'd started it. I'm quite interested in this whole period of history, and I'd heard of Matthew Hopkins, so was curious to see how Barbara Erskine would treat him as a character in her books. Sometimes the plot would switch from present to past and I found it difficult in places to keep up, but managed to catch up eventually. Quite a dark plot and unlike her other books but all the same I really enjoyed it.

do not read alone, 09 Oct 2007
This book was quite scary and as i was alone i found it very spookie, in a nice way, life suspended, nothing got done, i could not put it down, sheer escapism.

Its a Wow Book, 03 Aug 2007
I have many of Barbara's books, and I find them all brilliant, okay in places some can be a bit scary, but generally she has a good depth of understanding with regard to the history, ie in this book the Witch Finder General and horrors at that time. I found the book gripping and loved getting into the characters. Its a good book for spending spare time engrossed perhaps when on holiday, but don't expect to get anything done! because time just flies past. So go on prepare to be entertained, for the sake of around a fiver that can't be bad.

Yes, there are ghosties and beasties and things that go bump in the night!, 27 Mar 2007
What fun! Safe to read at home, but if I was staying at a hotel/home/building/ that was reputed to be haunted, I'd save this one for later.

It took a good couple of hundred pages to set the scenes and the characters, but then things took off and I couldn't put the book down. In some ways I can see cutting some of those characters and still keep the main story, but I loved the whole book anyway.

Don't let the page count deter you, the paperback was 700+ but with so many short chapters, leaving half pages blank leading into the next chapter, it was a very quick, albeit enjoyable read.


A brilliant book on a disturbed era of English history!, 30 Sep 2005
Having a large interest in the local history of East Anglia I immediately became absorbed into this book. The writing style is a perfect balance of facts, quotes, political background information in relation to the Civil War, religious views of the times and objective research by the author, making this a joy to read. The pages turned a lot faster than normal for a book set in this era!

The book follows the rise AND fall of the famous Witchfinders, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne from their large scale witch hunts in the 1640's. Starting in their local area of Manningtree in Essex and spreading, like the contempory and proverbial plague, through into Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntinghdonshire and Cambridgeshire and further, with ultimate influence on the witch hunts in America.

The personal details of the witchfinders characters and views along with their methods of finding witches is just compelling reading. Most of the time the reader will feel many emotions, from suprise and incredulity at the so-called confessions of witches to utter disbelief and revulsion at how people such as judges and jurors sentenced these confused and often poor women AND men for execution from such peculiar methods of proof from the witchfinders.

The book concludes, telling of how the two main witchfinders ended their days, and what legacy they left behind in society. With a neat little conclusion on how far humanity has come and that some countries still use witch hunts.
An excellent read! 5 Stars!

"Thy lady hath forgotten to be kind...", 13 May 2008
The King's Grey Mare is a lovely, bewitching read even if you haven't read about the Wars of the Roses before; it's not as politics-focused as many other books dealing with this period.

The author says she wanted to portray Elizabeth neither as villain or victim. I think she succeeds in making Elizabeth a rounded character, although some of the actions ascribed to her in this novel are pretty awful. I was initially put off by the talk of "evil witches" on the back cover; the old witchery rumours are a bit of a cliche when it comes to La Woodville. Luckily, Rosemary Hawley Jarman is a better, more sensitive writer than whoever wrote the blurb for her book!

The first part of the book follows Elizabeth Woodville as a young girl, a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VI and Marguerite d'Anjou and a blissful young bride. Then she is sent home a widow, where her mother Jacquetta sets her sights on a new son-in-law, the new young Yorkist King. The young Elizabeth could be fiery when she had to be, but she often didn't have to be. But with grief closing over her and the obsession of revenge upon the Earl of Warwick, she becomes proud and ruthless. As Elizabeth becomes less and less sympathetic, we see more of Grace, Edward IV's illegitimate daughter, who is a kind of foil to Elizabeth. Grace is to fall in love with John of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Richard III, forming a touching sub-plot, but she can't help herself from loving Elizabeth.

What I loved most about this book was the author's style of writing. Her vocabulary is huge and she has a real eye for detail, as well as a knack for a pretty phrase. I've heard her style described as "flowery", and it's certainly not the more modern, Philippa Gregory style of historical fiction. So, I guess it's not to everyone's taste. Her best known work is her first novel, We Speak No Treason, and although I found the writing there beautiful, the multiple-narrator structure dragged quite a bit and the dialogue seemed overly melodramatic. However, I was very pleasantly surprised with The King's Grey Mare. Perhaps experience had tightened up her abilities, or perhaps the classic novel type suits her better.

My favourite parts were in the earlier part of the book; Edward IV barrelling through the forest on a hunt, the legend of Melusine, the bliss of Bradgate, the court of the young and lovely Queen Marguerite. Places where the author's imagination has free rein. Perhaps predictably, the better documented parts of history, the machinations of politics, fall a little flat compared to the more magical parts of the novel. However, the final part of the book, which is set post-Bosworth where Henry Tudor is king, is gripping. It's unusual for a novel set in this period to spend much time, if any, after the fall of the Plantagenets. But if you've ever wondered exactly what happened to Elizabeth under Tudor rule, this book offers to fill in the gaps. Of course, there are some things we will never know the truth about, but Rosemary Hawley Jarman's explanation makes for an arresting conclusion.



Masterful Maleficarum, 02 Feb 2008
This is the new translation of the (in)famous "Malleus Maleficarum", the witchfinder's manual written during the late middle ages by Heinrich Kramer. This new version corrects errors made by earlier translators and provides a fuller, better and more accurate work which is truer to the latin original. The work is abridged in places to avoid repetition and is none the worse for it, although some may feel this slightly undermines its authenticity - however, this is a minor gripe. The introductory essay is well worth reading as it supplies some background and context for "Malleus" and helps the reader to a better understanding of the book and its impact through the ages as a result. The translator's enthusiasm also shines through and Maxwell-Stuart - an expert in the field - allows the book to flow without heavy handed editing which can, and sadly does, mar many an otherwise good book.

If you've already got Montague Summers' translation, then get this one anyway to bring things up to date. Also think about getting Martin Del Rio's "Investigations Into Magic" and Menghi's "The Devil's Scourge" to fully understand the spirit of the age.

Masterful stuff.

Sadly Dissapointed, 19 Sep 2008
I was majorly dissapointed when I finished reading this book earlier on this afternoon. The story has the promise of being extremely exciting and the ending highly anticipated. When you come towards the end of the book you realise that a lot of loose ends will not be concluded despite the 600+ pages and the story doesn't seem to be coming towards a climax with 10 pages to go. This book had the makings of a book I wouldn't put down but sadly I wish I hadn't picked it up.

Disappointing, 05 Sep 2008
I am a huge fan of The Boleyn Girl and enjoyed The Virgins Lover so was really looking forward to reading this book, however I was very disappointed. The plot just seemed random and to be going nowhere, the end was bizarre, the characters just annoying and unlikeable. However the worst thing about this novel for me was the vile, crude, disgusitngly over described sex scenes. Don't get me wrong I am not a prude who doesn't like sex to ever be mentioned in a book but I think there is a line between being a little graphic and pornography which is crossed in this book. I have read books that have fairly graphic moments but they usually add to the story or make you understand the characters a little better. All they did here was confuse the already random plot and make me feel sick. To be honest I just felt like Gregory was seeing how much she could get away with. I did manage to finish the novel but only because I had faith in Gregory and thought it would pick up - I was wrong. To be honest I was glad to close the book for the last time.If you are new to Gregorys work then do not start with this book as it is certainly not her best. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Not worth the time., 07 Aug 2008
My Mum was given this book as a gift a couple of years ago and now after we have both read it we agreed that if this had been the first book by Philippa Gregory we had come across we would not have bothered reading any more. The central characters we all unlikeable - though Lord Hugh at least seemed to be a fairly reliable depiction of a landed lord at the time. The blurb on the back of the book no way gives an accurate idea of what you can expect inside the covers. I found the wax dolls creepy and something I was uncomfortable reading. The only reason this book has been given one star is that I am unable to give it less.

Brilliant - Better than I had thought it would be, 14 Jul 2008
I was worried to read this, as I have read all of the Tudor Historical Fiction books by Philippa Gregory and absolutely loved them - I didn't want to find a book that wasn't as good. The beginning almost fulfilled my worry, but then I soon got to the point where I was thinking about reading the next chapter while working. It was really very good. I do agree that the 2 main characters, Alys and Hugo are as bad as each other, but at the same time you still want to know. I couldn't get over the ending; abrupt, but brilliant, it left me wanting more.

Now that I've read this one I can safely say I am going to read every single Philippa Gregory book I find.

Anachronistic rubbish, 20 Jun 2008
I find Philippa Gregory's pro-Catholic and anti-Protestant bias in her other books rather irritating anyway, but this goes totally over the top. The idea of persecuting Catholics as heretics for their beliefs is anachronistic at this time; when it happened, it was much more likely to happen under Edward VI or Elizabeth than under Henry VIII, who remained a Catholic to the end.

If you want good historical novels set in this period, go to Margaret Irwin who made her characters people of their time much more convincingly than PG does.

Immensely detailed and riveting history of neo paganism , 11 Jul 2008
Profound and sympathetic knowledge permeates the whole of this superb history tracing the origins of modern pagan beliefs back to the eighteenth century.

The first part entitled "Macrocosm" examines each component part of the new religion and how it evolved into its final form. The second part entitled "Microcosm" is about the personalities, their rivalries, and the divergent nature of the outcomes.

Hutton is undoubtedly correct that neo paganism as known today is a modern construct, but although he is even handed in his treatment of the subject, one has to remind oneself when reading the book that there is undoubtedly an ancient precedent.

In addition Hutton closely observed and researched 21 covens comprising 213 practitioners and the results form a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable achievement.

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Dated and actually quite a bit biased?, 12 Jun 2008
Having just read Wicca Magickal Beginnings for the first time, I thought I would revisit Triumph of the Moon (and a few other works) to see what I think of it after all these years. I read Triumph of the Moon when it first came out you see and then I was relatively new to the world of paganism. My knowledge and understanding has grown quite a lot since then and I was surprised that I found many errors in the book which I never noticed the first time. Some of them have already been noted by other reviewers here so I won't go into detail.

All and all this is a great book, but it is a product of its time. I got the feeling that the author might have been a bit biased in places with the views he presented. It also in hindsight seemed really strange to me that he included large sections on authors such as Starhawk, who is clearly not connected to either British Paganism or to the Wicca of Gerald Gardner. So why include her? Just to be sarcastic and put her down? I am not a great fan of the work of American pagans in general, but it has to be said that Starhawk's material was hugely influential. By including her, the author is giving credit to her and promoting her approach which he clearly does not agree with in the first place. All the same, one has to concede that she did have an influence and therefore might be worthy of inclusion.

He other thing that struck me is that the author clearly set out to prove his point that Wicca is the only religion given by the UK to the rest of the world. How can this be true? What about Druidry? The Church of England? Aetherius? Celtic Christianity? Its a nice idea, but its not true and unfortunately now a great many people echo him in saying that it is the only religion given by the UK to the world! The power of the written word in the hands of those who follow, rather than think.

Read widely on the subject of your history, be it the history of your culture, religion or origins. Knowledge is power!

Brilliant. A book for open minds., 29 Feb 2008
Buy it. I've had this book for a couple of years and keep going back to it (rare for me with most the books on the craft I have.) Yeah Mr Hutton writes like the accademic he is and at times you'll feel like you're sat in a uni lecture but stick with it.

This book is nothing but information that the eager pagan mind can eat up. Blows the myths and all the 'fictional' history of the craft. My favourite part is the second section that deals with the history of modern witchcraft, at present, though that might change, I feel, with additional readings. I'm a cottage witch and keep feeling a urge to back and read the chapters on the cunning folk for the imformation I might have missed on the first few reads.

Don't buy it if you like the Llewllyn 'be a witch, power, power, power, learn spells rule the world.' DO BUY IT if you've out grown that kind of stuff and wan't to know where the 'real' modern wiccan movement originated from and the true pagan liniage of the craft.

A classic for the well read wiccan's library.

My tip: order some high-lighter pens as well for all those parts relevant to the craft you're interested in.

Those who aren't wiccan/pagan but interested, please read it. So much truth about England's folk lore you can't afford to miss it. This book shoots holes in many of the modern wiccan claims you'll love it as much as the objective wiccans who read it. You might also learn something from it about the bigotry, highlighted in the first part of the book, of those who were different or practiced the old folk methods as part of their heritage.

A blessing on Mr Hutton for telling the truth (all be long winded a times)

Fantastic!, 29 May 2006
Hutton's treatment of the history of modern Paganism not only clarified the facts about paganism as a whole, it also gave me a greater understanding of what draws me to paganism. He sweeps away some of the myths around modern Paganism while recognising it as a valid spirituality. I thoroughly recommend this book to any Pagan, or indeed to any non-Pagan.

Fab & Must Read, 11 Sep 2005
It took me a long time to read this book and then I had to go back and start all over again.

There is simply no doubt that this book is a must read for anyone interested in and everyone practicing Wicca today. Get a copy, read it and keep it for reference. It provides not just an overview of the history of the people and places, but also useful information which may help you reconstruct rituals. (Although not intended in that way)

Tosh, 27 Jun 2008
I had to review this, despite the many reviews it's got already, because it exasperated me so much. It's mind-candy. It's quite good quality mind-candy, but there's not much nourishment to be had from it. It never quite had me hiding under the covers, because I just couldn't believe in it all.

Maybe that was because I'm pretty familiar with its setting. Now, if you're going to set a book somewhere real, shouldn't you be true to that location? Take it from me: Manningtree doesn't have a cute Georgian rectory. Far from it: the rector was long ago banished to a 1980's box. But everyone knows that country towns are quaint and insular and have Georgian rectories, and so the rector here must have one too. What this tells us is that this is a book based solidly on stereotypes.

If you want an easy read which won't demand much from you in the way of thought, this is fine. If you'd prefer something with a bit of texture to it, you might want to find something else.

scary!, 24 Jun 2008
again, I found this book difficult to put down once I'd started it. I'm quite interested in this whole period of history, and I'd heard of Matthew Hopkins, so was curious to see how Barbara Erskine would treat him as a character in her books. Sometimes the plot would switch from present to past and I found it difficult in places to keep up, but managed to catch up eventually. Quite a dark plot and unlike her other books but all the same I really enjoyed it.

do not read alone, 09 Oct 2007
This book was quite scary and as i was alone i found it very spookie, in a nice way, life suspended, nothing got done, i could not put it down, sheer escapism.

Its a Wow Book, 03 Aug 2007
I have many of Barbara's books, and I find them all brilliant, okay in places some can be a bit scary, but generally she has a good depth of understanding with regard to the history, ie in this book the Witch Finder General and horrors at that time. I found the book gripping and loved getting into the characters. Its a good book for spending spare time engrossed perhaps when on holiday, but don't expect to get anything done! because time just flies past. So go on prepare to be entertained, for the sake of around a fiver that can't be bad.

Yes, there are ghosties and beasties and things that go bump in the night!, 27 Mar 2007
What fun! Safe to read at home, but if I was staying at a hotel/home/building/ that was reputed to be haunted, I'd save this one for later.

It took a good couple of hundred pages to set the scenes and the characters, but then things took off and I couldn't put the book down. In some ways I can see cutting some of those characters and still keep the main story, but I loved the whole book anyway.

Don't let the page count deter you, the paperback was 700+ but with so many short chapters, leaving half pages blank leading into the next chapter, it was a very quick, albeit enjoyable read.


A brilliant book on a disturbed era of English history!, 30 Sep 2005
Having a large interest in the local history of East Anglia I immediately became absorbed into this book. The writing style is a perfect balance of facts, quotes, political background information in relation to the Civil War, religious views of the times and objective research by the author, making this a joy to read. The pages turned a lot faster than normal for a book set in this era!

The book follows the rise AND fall of the famous Witchfinders, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne from their large scale witch hunts in the 1640's. Starting in their local area of Manningtree in Essex and spreading, like the contempory and proverbial plague, through into Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntinghdonshire and Cambridgeshire and further, with ultimate influence on the witch hunts in America.

The personal details of the witchfinders characters and views along with their methods of finding witches is just compelling reading. Most of the time the reader will feel many emotions, from suprise and incredulity at the so-called confessions of witches to utter disbelief and revulsion at how people such as judges and jurors sentenced these confused and often poor women AND men for execution from such peculiar methods of proof from the witchfinders.

The book concludes, telling of how the two main witchfinders ended their days, and what legacy they left behind in society. With a neat little conclusion on how far humanity has come and that some countries still use witch hunts.
An excellent read! 5 Stars!

"Thy lady hath forgotten to be kind...", 13 May 2008
The King's Grey Mare is a lovely, bewitching read even if you haven't read about the Wars of the Roses before; it's not as politics-focused as many other books dealing with this period.

The author says she wanted to portray Elizabeth neither as villain or victim. I think she succeeds in making Elizabeth a rounded character, although some of the actions ascribed to her in this novel are pretty awful. I was initially put off by the talk of "evil witches" on the back cover; the old witchery rumours are a bit of a cliche when it comes to La Woodville. Luckily, Rosemary Hawley Jarman is a better, more sensitive writer than whoever wrote the blurb for her book!

The first part of the book follows Elizabeth Woodville as a young girl, a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VI and Marguerite d'Anjou and a blissful young bride. Then she is sent home a widow, where her mother Jacquetta sets her sights on a new son-in-law, the new young Yorkist King. The young Elizabeth could be fiery when she had to be, but she often didn't have to be. But with grief closing over her and the obsession of revenge upon the Earl of Warwick, she becomes proud and ruthless. As Elizabeth becomes less and less sympathetic, we see more of Grace, Edward IV's illegitimate daughter, who is a kind of foil to Elizabeth. Grace is to fall in love with John of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Richard III, forming a touching sub-plot, but she can't help herself from loving Elizabeth.

What I loved most about this book was the author's style of writing. Her vocabulary is huge and she has a real eye for detail, as well as a knack for a pretty phrase. I've heard her style described as "flowery", and it's certainly not the more modern, Philippa Gregory style of historical fiction. So, I guess it's not to everyone's taste. Her best known work is her first novel, We Speak No Treason, and although I found the writing there beautiful, the multiple-narrator structure dragged quite a bit and the dialogue seemed overly melodramatic. However, I was very pleasantly surprised with The King's Grey Mare. Perhaps experience had tightened up her abilities, or perhaps the classic novel type suits her better.

My favourite parts were in the earlier part of the book; Edward IV barrelling through the forest on a hunt, the legend of Melusine, the bliss of Bradgate, the court of the young and lovely Queen Marguerite. Places where the author's imagination has free rein. Perhaps predictably, the better documented parts of history, the machinations of politics, fall a little flat compared to the more magical parts of the novel. However, the final part of the book, which is set post-Bosworth where Henry Tudor is king, is gripping. It's unusual for a novel set in this period to spend much time, if any, after the fall of the Plantagenets. But if you've ever wondered exactly what happened to Elizabeth under Tudor rule, this book offers to fill in the gaps. Of course, there are some things we will never know the truth about, but Rosemary Hawley Jarman's explanation makes for an arresting conclusion.



Masterful Maleficarum, 02 Feb 2008
This is the new translation of the (in)famous "Malleus Maleficarum", the witchfinder's manual written during the late middle ages by Heinrich Kramer. This new version corrects errors made by earlier translators and provides a fuller, better and more accurate work which is truer to the latin original. The work is abridged in places to avoid repetition and is none the worse for it, although some may feel this slightly undermines its authenticity - however, this is a minor gripe. The introductory essay is well worth reading as it supplies some background and context for "Malleus" and helps the reader to a better understanding of the book and its impact through the ages as a result. The translator's enthusiasm also shines through and Maxwell-Stuart - an expert in the field - allows the book to flow without heavy handed editing which can, and sadly does, mar many an otherwise good book.

If you've already got Montague Summers' translation, then get this one anyway to bring things up to date. Also think about getting Martin Del Rio's "Investigations Into Magic" and Menghi's "The Devil's Scourge" to fully understand the spirit o