The Discovery of Witches (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A 1647 Witchcraft Prosecution Manual from Civil War England and the Essex Witch TrialsBy Matthew Hopkins
Length1h 12m
About this audiobook
Matthew Hopkins's The Discovery of Witches (1647) is a compact but consequential pamphlet that presents itself as a reasoned defense of witch-hunting practice. Framed as answers to doubts and objections, it explains alleged signs of witchcraft, methods of examination, the role of familiars, and the notorious tests associated with early modern prosecutions. Its prose is plain, polemical, and juridical, belonging to the pamphlet culture of Civil War England, where religious fear, local rumor, and legal procedure often converged. Hopkins, remembered as the self-styled "Witchfinder General," operated chiefly in East Anglia during the 1640s, a period marked by political breakdown, Puritan moral urgency, and weakened judicial oversight. His brief career coincided with one of England's most intense episodes of witch prosecution. The Discovery of Witches can therefore be read not merely as personal justification, but as an attempt to codify and legitimize the practices that made his name infamous. This book is recommended to readers interested in witchcraft studies, legal history, religious culture, and the darker mechanisms of social panic. Read critically, it is an indispensable primary document: disturbing, revealing, and essential for understanding how fear can acquire the language of authority.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.6 (626)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing, StoryGraph
GenreHistory
Length1 hr 12 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 21, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
19Quer. 8.
2Introduction
20Ans.
3Synopsis
21Quer. 9.
4Historical Context
22Ans.
5Querie 1.
23Quer. 10.
Show all chaptersShow less
6Answ.
24Ans.
7Querie 2.
25Quer. 11.
8Answ.
26Answ.
9Quer. 3.
27Quer. 12.
10Answ.
28Answ.
11Quer. 4.
29Quest. 13.
12Answ.
30Answ.
13Quer. 5.
31Quer. 14.
14Answ.
32Ans.
15Quer. 6.
33Analysis
16Answ.
34Reflection
17Quer. 7.
35Memorable Quotes
18Ans.
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
Pearl of Great PriceJoseph Smith3h 8m4.7 (7.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Redeemer’s ReturnArthur W. Pink13h 18m4.7 (589)$20
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 9m4.8 (150)$1.99 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
Saving My EnemyBob Welch9h 11m4.6 (2.3K)$20
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
The Red Record (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett5h 19m4.8 (102)$1.99 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
EnduranceAlfred Lansing6h 1m4.6 (40.8K)$20
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
You may also like
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of CrowdsCharles Mackay27h 50m4.1 (29.3K)Free
Memoirs Of Extraordinary Popular DelusionsCharles Mackay10h 22m4.0 (9.2K)Free
The Discoverie Of WitchcraftReginald Scot32h 25m4.1 (423)$2.30
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Complete Edition: Volume 1-3)Charles Mackay33h 5m4.0 (11.3K)$1 · $0.00
The Witch's HammerHeinrich Kramer18h 46m3.5 (5.7K)$4.70 · $0.00
The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (Annotated)Margaret Murray13h 14m3.8 (2.1K)$2 · $0.00
The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut (Annotated)John M. Taylor5h 13m3.9 (107)$2 · $0.00
The Hammer of Witches: Malleus Maleficarum (Summarized Edition)Heinrich Kramer4h 5m$2
The Witchcraft of Salem VillageShirley Jackson3h 10m$14
The True Story of Salem: Book 1-7Charles Wentworth Upham, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, James Thacher, M. V. B. Perley, William P. Upham, Samuel Roberts Wells57h 10m4.4 (12)$1 · $0.00
The Witchcraft Delusion in New England (Vol. 1-3) (Annotated)Cotton Mather, Robert Calef19h 30m4.0 (26)$2.99 · $0.00
The Discovery of WitchcraftReginald Scot31h 37m4.1 (148)$1.99 · $0.00
Salem Witchcraft (Vol. 1&2) (Annotated)Charles Wentworth Upham31h 57m4.2 (231)$2 · $0.00
The History of Witchcraft in EuropeJohn Ashton, William Godwin, Howard Williams, Frederick George Lee, Walter Scott, Jules Michelet, M. Schele de Vere, W. H. Davenport Adams, Charles Mackay, George Moir, Margaret Murray, St. John D. Seymour, John G. Campbell, John Maxwell Wood, Bram Stoker, E. Lynn Linton, Wilhelm Meinhold176h 12m4.0 (18)$2 · $0.00
New Light on WitchcraftJoseph McCabe1h 40m$15
The History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages Volume IIIHenry Charles Lea30h 40m3.8 (138)$2.30
The Mythology and History of WitchcraftFrederick George Lee, E. Lynn Linton, Howard Williams, Walter Scott, Jules Michelet, M. Schele de Vere, John Ashton, William Godwin, W. H. Davenport Adams, Charles Mackay, George Moir, John G. Campbell, John Maxwell Wood, Bram Stoker, Wilhelm Meinhold, Cotton Mather, Increase Mather, Charles Wentworth Upham, M. V. B. Perley, James Thacher, William P. Upham, Samuel Roberts Wells, John M. Taylor, Allen Putnam262h 28m4.3 (31)$2 · $0.00
Magic and WitchcraftGeorge Moir2h 58m$2 · $0.00
The Collected Works on Magic & WitchcraftBram Stoker, Charles Mackay, William Godwin, Walter Scott, Charles Wentworth Upham, Jules Michelet, John Ashton, Howard Williams, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, Allen Putnam, George Moir, Frederick George Lee, James Thacher, M. V. B. Perley, Wilhelm Meinhold, John M. Taylor, E. Lynn Linton, William P. Upham, W. H. Davenport Adams, M. Schele de Vere, St. John D. Seymour, John G. Campbell, John Maxwell Wood, Samuel Roberts Wells, Margaret Murray274h 47m$2 · $0.00
The True Story of Salem: Book 1-7Charles Wentworth Upham, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, James Thacher, M. V. B. Perley, William P. Upham, Samuel Roberts Wells57h 10m4.1 (11)$1.99 · $0.00