RESEARCH

These are links and reviews of research materials that have really helped me in crafting my stories. No writer is an island; she thrives within the volumes of the research, anecdotes, experience, and scholarship of others. For anyone interested in learning more about the background for my novels, this is the place to be!

Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy by Malcolm Gaskill: Truly a great work of scholarship on the men behind the legend, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne. This was one of the most in-depth and well-researched history books I've ever read, with an emphasis on separating the reality from the wild rumors. In this case, the truth is as shocking and sad as anything that could be made up.

Matthew Hopkins on Project Gutenberg: This is MH's original book, full of self-justification and nonsense, along with some very creepy imitations of Satan's voice. I found it inspiring. Thanks, Matthew, for being such a great villain! Also props to Project Gutenberg, which is a wonderful and free online resource for historically significant documents.

The Saveock water pits and an ecology of magic: Excerpts and comments about an archaeological discovery of cunning-folk magic in Cornwall. Witches were real! (Although most of them weren't so unlucky as the ones in Suffer a Witch.)

The Archaeology of Folk Magic by Brian Hoggard: Article about some of the artifacts left by the cunning-folk: buried shoes, witch bottles, and the like. Also discusses the growing interest by historians in English folk magic.

The Peerage: Amazing collection of genealogical information on the British nobility. Thousands of names, going back centuries, and how I discovered there was a noble family named Felton, living in Suffolk at the time of the witch trials. Gave me a bit of a shiver, especially since I'd already chosen the name!