Witchful Thinking: 12 Spellbinding Books About Witches From The Mandel Public Library

From the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach:

October 13, 2020

by Sarah

In a year of murder hornets, deadly respiratory illness, insane fires, and social isolation, we could all use a little escape. Personally, I love to escape into a world of witches, and the time of year is just right for such an adventure. These twelve titles explore the world of witches in unique, exciting, and thoroughly enjoyable ways. I have split the titles up into categories based on what I think they might offer to you as a reader: nonfiction witches, witches of academia, immensely powerful witches, and truly frightening witches. I hope that you are able to, like me, take a little solace in escaping to a new world with the help of a book.

Nonfiction Witches

If you find that your tastes run more towards history than fantastical tales, these nonfiction titles may be perfect for you.

The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy Schiff

The Witches is an extremely well-researched account of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem, MA. Stacy Schiff is a master of historical writing and effortlessly combines primary sources such as court documents, letters, and journal entries into a sweeping and compelling narrative. The Salem Witch Trials are a tale of witches, but they are also a tale of religious fervor, a scared town populace, misogynist societal structures, and vast and terrible judicial overreach. By the end of 1693, 19 people, mostly women, were found guilty of witchcraft or consorting with the devil and hanged for it. Reading The Witches puts you into the cells of the men and women accused of witchcraft in this horrible event and allows you to see how, though they had no real chance of victory, many of these women never stopped fighting.

The Penguin Book of Witches edited by Katherine Howe

Hold on tight as Katherine Howe takes us through several hundred years of history of the treatment of witches and supposed witches. She includes such highlights as the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum and the Salem Witch Trials as she brings to life tales from Europe and North America about witches. The treatment of witches throughout history has not been pretty, and while Katherine Howe does not shy away from the brutal details, she does not focus primarily on them. Instead, Howe works with historical sources to bring to life the people involved in these stories both witch and inquisitor. This is a brief but fascinating introduction to the study of historical witchcraft that reads easily and enjoyably.

Witches of Academia

If you like your witches with a side of dedicated study, impressive research, and some serious library time, you might enjoy these stories of witches embroiled in academia.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches is a tale of a woman who simultaneously discovers her hidden supernatural talents and her self-confidence. Diana is a scholar at Oxford completing her Ph.D. by researching in the Bodleian Library when she discovers an important manuscript thought to be lost. Deborah Harkness paints a fantastical and fascinating world filled with witches, vampires, and more in this urban fantasy. While the characters may be supernatural, the emotions that they experience (and that you’ll experience along with them) are profoundly human. If you love this title, you’re in luck because it is the first book in a trilogy.

Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

There were witches once. Women had the power to wield, and they did so readily. Then came the inquisition and magic all but disappeared from the world. The Eastwood sisters, living in late 19th century New Salem, USA (built after the destruction of Old Salem during the witch trials) aim to change that. Slowly but surely, the Eastwood sisters ensnare themselves not only in developing and sharing magic but also in political movements supporting the working class and women’s suffrage using tools as varied as brute force and more than a little library research. Funny, heartwarming, and inspiring, this fresh take on magic and the power of family has a thorough grounding in feminism and history that makes it a delight to read.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Connie Goodwin is working on completing her doctoral dissertation in American History at Harvard when her mother asks for a favor. The favor is a big one: handling the emptying and sale of her grandmother’s home in a small town for the summer; however, Connie agrees. One day, Connie finds a very old key that will prove to open up far more than a simple door. After her discovery, Connie finds herself entangled in a frantic quest to find her family’s original physick book which contains the sum of their magical knowledge. This novel is fun, light, and fast-moving as it switches viewpoints between the modern-day and the 17th century during the Salem Witch Trials in a race to find a document that is seemingly lost forever.

Immensely Powerful Witches

If you’re looking for a witch who can pack a serious punch with their magical talents, these titles might appeal to you.

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe is born into the pantheon of Greek gods as the daughter of a beautiful nymph and the titan Helios, in whose house she resides. Circe is neither as beautiful as the nymphs nor as powerful as the gods and when one day she commits an unforgivable transgression, it is easy for Helios to exile her to a small, empty island. On the beaches and in the forests of her island, Circe learns to make her own way and take her own power in ways even the gods did not expect. This enthralling tale pulls you along the twisted path of one of the very first witches of Grecian myth with beautiful prose.

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

Set in the American south in the years around the Civil War, Conjure Women tells the story of a remarkable woman and her daughter who have the gift of healing. May Belle and Rue both work as midwives on a plantation in an insular community of emancipated slaves. When a new preacher comes to town, Rue treads carefully to determine if he is a threat while harboring a secret that could put her in jeopardy. Atakora does a wonderful job of depicting life for emancipated slaves in the rural south and does an equally wonderful job creating a compelling narrative that sucks the reader in and won’t let go.

Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Lou is hiding out in a city crawling with her enemies. As a witch, she is constantly hunted by the Church in their endless inquisition. She uses her magic sparingly, not only to avoid the Church but because all magic comes with a cost. When Lou gets into some (non-magical) trouble with the Church, she is sentenced to be punished by marrying the Church’s sworn witch hunters, Reid Diggory. Lou and Reid find themselves having to pretend their way through an unwanted marriage for the sake of Reid’s desired career and Lou’s desired freedom. Romance blossoms as the unlikely pair work toward their shared goal. This exciting novel provides plenty of unexpected twists as it develops and explores a world where witches are incredibly dangerous, deeply feared, and fervently hunted.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik’s name will appear on this list twice because she is a master of world-building who consistently writes wonderful fantasy novels. It turns out that this is the perfect combination for writing stories about complex, wonderful, unique witches. In Agnieska’s forest village, each year the dragon comes down from his tower to visit the village and to take one of their daughters for one year. The girls always return, but they’re always changed. When Agnieszka is surprisingly chosen to accompany the dragon back to his tower, she is shocked to find that she has the gift of magic. As her power grows to something entirely unexpected, she has to abandon her education with the dragon to find her own way in the world. This is a beautiful fairy tale about the love of family, the importance of home, and one very powerful witch.

Truly Frightening Witches

If you’re seeking out witches whose powers would chill you to your bones, the following titles will be perfect for you.

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Immanuelle Moore isn't like the rest of the young women in Bethel. She's mixed-race and being raised by her grandmother. Not to mention the fact that her mother is rumored to have consorted with witches. As Immanuelle learns more about her heritage and past, a series of plagues descends on Bethel. With the help of unlikely ally Elijah, next in line to become a religious leader of Bethel, Immanuelle does everything she can to save the village that has never quite accepted her and the family that has always treated her differently. This novel takes the paradigm of the suppression of an evil theocracy and turns it on its head. There are abuses within the confines of power and oppressive systems in place, but it turns out the opposing force to that theocracy is no better. As a result, we end up with an impressive heroine and an unlikely hero working together to change a system from the inside rather than burning that system down. I found this novel fast-paced, well-plotted, and deeply enjoyable.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

The Scholomance is a secret school for young wizards that exists slightly in the real world but mostly in the void. Wizards are kept inside the school for four years as their dorm rooms rotate downwards in an ever-more-dangerous spiral. Attendance at the Scholomance, however, is not free; it feeds off of those that fall prey to the resident monsters. Galadriel is a young wizard who has been marked with an affinity for death and mass destruction. She has worked hard over her three years in the Scholomance to keep knowledge of her true power a secret from her classmates. As Galadriel and her class approach graduation, she befriends class hero Orion Lake and has a harder and harder time keeping her secret. This is the beginning of what will be a series by Naomi Novik, and I can't wait for the next book. The characters are likable, complex, and interesting. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat from first page to last.

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, translated by Nancy Forest-Flier

Black Spring is a perfectly ordinary town. They have a perfectly ordinary town square, a perfectly ordinary butcher’s shop, and a perfectly ordinary terrifying witch who appears at random. The Black Rock witch is powerless with her eyes and mouth sewn shut, as they have been since the 17th century, but the eternal threat of what would happen if her eyes were to open are enough to spur an app solely dedicated to monitoring her, the constant vigilance of the townspeople, and a large military installation. However, teenagers have never been known for their common sense and this is no different in Black Spring. When a group of teenagers decides to approach and torture the village witch, the results are disastrous. This fun, quirky, and ultimately horrifying novel from Dutch author Thomas Olde Heuvelt will keep you turning pages long after you should have been asleep.

Want more witchy reads? Take a look at our featured shelf in cloudLibrary for even more!

This press release was produced by the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.