"Fascinating and vivid." New Statesman"Thoroughlyresearched." The Spectator "Intriguing." BBC History Magazine"Vividly told." BBC History Revealed"A timely warning against persecution." Morning Star"Astute and thoughtful." History Today"An important work." All About History"Well-researched." The TabletOn the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came rasping, rapping and tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Frightened by its appearance, his servants and members of his family had, within a matter of hours, convinced themselves that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy the fabric of their lives. As the result of these allegations, three women of Bideford came to be forever defined as witches. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to the gal
