Of Toads and Hares: The Witches and Wisewomen of England

Of Toads and Hares gathers English tales about witches, wisewomen and the local traditions surrounding them, arranged as a county-by-county survey. Benjamin Stimpson draws together regional legends in which magical practitioners were said to shapeshift into hares, cats or toads, consort with spirits, or sell themselves to the Devil.

The collection also records the more practical reputation of wisewomen, whose reported skills included fortune-telling, healing, cursing and selling love charms. Alongside stories of stolen or curdled milk, illness and death are accounts that present wise women in a more helpful light. The result is a study of how English folklore has imagined magic, women and place across generations.