Accused: British Witches throughout History

Accused: British Witches throughout History presents the stories of 11 women accused of witchcraft across the British Isles. Willow Winsham traces these cases from 14th-century Ireland to 20th-century Hampshire, asking why accusations arose, who pursued them and whether those accused could survive the consequences.

Rather than treating the accused as a faceless crowd, the book gives each woman a distinct biography and places her experiences within their wider social and historical setting. Winsham draws on trial documents, contemporary pamphlets, church records and census returns to reconstruct lives shaped by fear, suspicion, persecution and changing attitudes towards witchcraft. The result is a case-by-case history of accusation, reputation and punishment.