Davies brackets his study of the topic between the passing of two important laws the Witchcraft Act of 1736 (which wiped out the legality of witch prosecution) and the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951(which spelled out the official belief that no such thing as a medium exists). In this 215 year stretch Davies looks at how magic and witchcraft survived and even flourished in British popular culture and in the textual, visual and folkloric imagination of people of all classes. Besides using legal, theological and scientific documents, Davies also examines how discourses about magic and the supernatural in general moved between"high culture" and "low culture"- mutually influencing one another. Despite the fact that elites moved away from belief in witches in the 19th century, the subject of witchcraft and magic became more popular than ever thanks to new forms of urban media, growing literacy and the modern yearning to "re-enchant" the world and reconnect to lost folkways. Case studies of alternative practices of healing, popular and elite forums for astrology (both commoners and aristocrats, clergy and even some natural philosophers restarted to it) and the Victorian obsession with fairies round out this excellent study.
Reviews of "Witchcraft, Magic and Culture: 1736-1951"
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