HOW TO KILL A WITCH

‘Fascinating and illuminating, this book tempers the justifiable rage with sharp and funny pinpricks to the pompous.’ – Val McDermid * author of Past Lying *‘As well as highly entertaining read, How To Kill A Witch is a tour de force of research, understanding and compassion. What the world needs is more quarrelsome dames - and Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi are two of the best.’ – Professor Sue Black * author of All That Remains *‘A dignified, defiant memorial to thousands of ordinary women branded as witches and, all too often, put to death. Told with imagination and empathy, the stories in this book expose the tragedy of their lives, as well as the subordination, paranoia and cruelty responsible. Serious and angry, but so completely accessible, How To Kill A Witch is a work of real historical investigation and a fierce warning for our times.’ – Malcolm Gaskill * author of The Ruin Of All Witches *‘As a woman who has been called a witch from as early as age ten, you could say I’ve been waiting my whole life for this book. How did they get away with the wholesale slaughter of women simply for being opinionated, intuitive, creative or intelligent? At a time when women’s rights are once again being threatened across the globe, this book could not be a more timely read if it tried.’ – Shirley Manson * Garbage *‘Quite possibly the most horrific portrayal of one of our darkest periods in history. This book, whilst an addictive read, also warns us of the dangers of powerful men (mostly) who used scapegoating and mass hysteria to target and murder women (mostly). The writers hand us a nightmarish blueprint of what could easily happen today, if we chose to ignore our past.’ – Aamer Anwar * leading Human Rights Lawyer *‘The Witches of Scotland… profile persecuted women from the burning times. Their tales are woven by archivists, historians and writers - and by Venditozzi and Mitchell themselves, two of Scotland’s most vivid storytellers.’ * THE TIMES *‘A unique, angry, surprisingly funny tour of what Scottish witch trial history means today’ – Marion Gibson * author of Witchcraft A History in 13 Trials *‘Utterly absorbing and drags you in immediately.’ – Jenny Colgan * author of The Bookshop on the Corner *‘The most important book I’ll read this year. A manifesto, a call to arms, a historical heist and a paragon of storytelling, How to Kill a Witch prods some of the most topical issues of the moment and provides a wealth of insights, stitching the past and present together like some gorgeous tartan. Zoe and Claire are a dynamic duo of quarrelsome dames, and their take on witches is the very best. Brilliant, witty, searing, and necessary, this is a book to share and treasure.’ – CJ Cooke * author of The Lighthouse Witches *Terrifying, fascinating and important – Sara Sheridan * author of Where Are The Women and The Fair Botanists *‘This book pulls off the difficult feat of being simultaneously entertaining, unsettling and enraging. A brilliant account of what happened during Scotland’s witch ‘panics’, and why it still matters today.’ – Mairi Kidd * Author of Scottish Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends *‘The authors’ campaigning and creative approach to exploring the stories of women caught in the maelstrom of witchcraft accusations and patriarchal suspicion makes for an engaging read about a tragic subject.’ – Owen Davies * author of Grimoires *‘In this fascinating, angering and deeply sad book Claire Mitchell KC and Zoe Venditozzi set out to tell the story of the thousands of poor and uneducated women who were victims of a satanic panic in Scotland during the 16th and 17th centuries. Every village in Scotland has a memorial to the men who were killed in two world wars. Why not something similar to the thousands of women who lost their lives due to this gross miscarriage of justice?’ * The Mail On Sunday *‘Fascinating, fact-filled, funny, feminist and furious’ * The Scotsman *

Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, KC