Guest Biography and Works Published
Historian Malcolm Gaskill
Professor Malcolm Gaskill, Professor Emeritus of the Emeritus Professor, School of History and Art History at University of East Anglia, has authored four highly praised books on witchcraft and witch trials, as well as books on crime and the development of Americanism.
Books by Malcolm Gaskill
The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World
The Ruin of All Witches chronicles the witch trials of Mary (Lewis) Parsons and her husband, Hugh Parsons. In 1651, this Springfield, Massachusetts couple faced charges of witchcraft in court in Boston. As told by Malcolm Gaskill, their story unfolds like a dark fairy tale. This gripping history book reads like a novel.
Between Two Worlds: How the English Became Americans
Between Two Worlds analyzes events on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to understand how people of what is today the United States began to think of themselves as American. In Malcolm Gaskill’s engaging style, this sweeping narrative of America’s 17th century recounts the hardships faced by early Americans and he ways they adapted.
Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction
In Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction, Malcolm Gaskill discusses the evolving concept of the witch and how the word witchcraft has never meant just one thing to all people. Stretching from ancient times to the contemporary, this book paints a picture of what witchcraft is and isn’t.
Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy
Witchfinders takes readers to Suffolk and East Anglia for the witch hunt led by Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne. Between 1644 and 1647, at least 250 people were brought before courts on charges of witchcraft. More than 100 were hanged. Malcolm Gaskill explores more than the mere plot to examine how the hunt came to be.
Hellish Nell: Last of Britain’s Witches
Helen Duncan was the last person charged in the United Kingdom under the witchcraft acts. . . in 1944! In Hellish Nell, Malcolm Gaskill paints a picture of Helen’s work and trial. Trusted by hundreds for her purported prophecies, Helen was convicted of fraudulently claiming psychic abilities. She was jailed until after World War II had ended.
Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England
Crime and Mentalities explores the cultural contexts and hidden social meanings of crime and prosecution. The book also looks at crime’s contributions to English mentalities over the long-term and the ways in which the many religious, social, and political changes of the early modern period reshaped how the English thought.
Episodes Featuring Malcolm Gaskill
