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As research for my novel, The Manningtree Witches, I read dozens of accounts of women (and some men, but mainly women) accused of maleficium, or witchcraft, in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. These accounts are touchingly formulaic: they begin with a woman, usually poor, often past marriageable age, visited by the devil, who offers his power in return for her soul. They are an invaluable resource for understanding the dimensions of women’s lives at this time in history. Their concerns are limited, domestic. And so, most often, are their alleged transgressions. They sour milk and dirty laundry at Satan’s behest. Rarely does their ambition for the power granted to them seem to extend beyond the home, the village.

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