About the author
Tabitha Stanmore is a British historian specializing in the history of magic and witchcraft in medieval and early modern Europe. Her book Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic, published by Bloomsbury, examines the everyday professional magic-workers, or cunning folk, who were hired for practical ends such as finding lost objects or lifting curses, distinguishing their work from the witchcraft that was prosecuted in the same period. Love Spells and Lost Treasure, published by Cambridge University Press, extends this focus on practical magic performed for payment, arguing that such commissioned magic was a more common part of medieval and early modern life than the witch trials that have dominated popular accounts of the period. Stanmore's work is aimed at readers interested in social and cultural history rather than in magic as a practice to be used.
📖 Where to start with Tabitha Stanmore
💬 What our editors say about Tabitha Stanmore's books
“Stanmore delivers a compelling revisionist history that successfully complicates the standard witch-hunt narrative. By focusing on the agency of cunning folk, she offers a fresh, necessary perspective on medieval spirituality.…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic
“This academic text provides a rigorous look at practical magic but may disappoint those seeking instructional grimoires or romanticized narratives of witchcraft. Scholars and historians will appreciate its focus on the commercial…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Love Spells and Lost Treasure
