About the author
Emma Wilby is a historian whose work focuses on witchcraft and popular magic in early modern Britain and Europe, published primarily by Liverpool University Press. Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits (2005) examines belief in familiar spirits among village cunning-folk and draws comparisons with shamanic traditions. Visions of Isobel Gowdie (2010) is a close study of the confessions of the Scottish woman tried for witchcraft in 1662, considered among the most detailed such records in Britain. Invoking the Akelarre (2019) turns to the Basque witch trials of 1609-1614, analysing the demonological testimony generated by that panic. Across these books Wilby brings together documentary evidence, folklore, and questions about altered states of consciousness to reconstruct how accused people and their communities understood magic and the supernatural. Her work is written for readers of academic history rather than practitioners, treating witchcraft as a subject of historical and anthropological inquiry.
📖 Where to start with Emma Wilby
💬 What our editors say about Emma Wilby's books
“Wilby’s seminal analysis provides a groundbreaking reinterpretation of historical testimonies, unearthing the profound reality of familiar spirits in early modern Britain. By drawing compelling parallels between these practices…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits
“Wilby’s scholarship is rigorous and transformative, yet it demands patience from readers seeking light entertainment. This is not a guide to performing spells but a dense historical analysis of belief systems. It may disappoint…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits
“Wilby’s scholarship is rigorous and revelatory, offering a necessary corrective to romanticized notions of witchcraft by grounding them in historical reality. However, this book does not suit readers seeking a narrative memoir or…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Visions of Isobel Gowdie
📋 Editions by Emma Wilby in the catalog
| Edition | Year | Publisher | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits | 2005 | Liverpool University Press | 317 | 9781845190781 |
| Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits | 2005 | Liverpool University Press | 317 | 9781845190798 |
| Visions of Isobel Gowdie | 2010 | Liverpool University Press | 604 | 9781845191801 |
| Invoking the Akelarre | 2019 | Liverpool University Press | 480 | 9781845199692 |
