Week 4: "Witches and Neighbors" by Briggs

Briggs achievement is in creating a very rich, broad overview of the witch-craze in the sixteenth century, supplementing his own deep primary source research with specific cases in and around Lorraine, with other studies of the witch persecution. This is also the book's major weakness as the author moves back and forth between localities so often, the reader is often left confused as to the possible connections (if any) between diverse cases spread out across the continent. Marketed as a popular history (and it certainly will satisfy those intelligent lay readers eager to learn more about the history of early modern witchcraft) it never-the-less may have been better as two books: one a general history of the topic and two, a monograph of the specifics of the witch prosecutions in Lorraine. The book also suffers from an unclear organizational strategy- topicality vs. locality which often lead him to repeat himself.

Reviews of "Witches and Neighbors"

1. Review by Jane P. Davidson
2. Review by T. O. Beidleman
3. Review by Deborah Willis