‘Something Wicked’ by Carol Ann Lee

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

(Audiobook)

In 1612, ten people from Pendle were executed as witches. Most of the information known comes from Thomas Potts’ Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches, but now true-crime author Carol Ann Lee takes an in-depth view of the case, exploring the lives of the people involved, their backgrounds and the communities they came from.

I’ve read several books by this author, including those concerning the White House Farm murders, and her biography of Ruth Ellis, so I’m familiar with her accessible writing style and eagled-eyed attention to detail. Subtitled The Lives, Crimes and Deaths of the Pendle Witches, this is a comprehensive and well-researched book that delves into the reality of the two main families involved in the trial, unpicking Potts’ jaundiced view of the proceedings and suggesting possible alternatives to his ‘history’ of those events. It’s true to say that the book is a long one, unearthing a huge amount of information that could easily overwhelm the casual reader. The audiobook comes with a PDF showing the Southerns/Device and Whittle/Redfearn family trees, the main and subsidiary characters, and a glossary of some of the more obscure words used in the book.

Superbly narrated by Emma Gregory, this is a fascinating, scary and troubling account of one of the most notorious witch trials in British history.

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