'Diane Purkiss ... insists on taking witches seriously. Her refusal to write witch-believers off as unenlightened has produced some richly intelligent meditations on their -- and our -- world.' - The Observer
'An invigorating and challenging book ... sets many hares running.' - The Times Higher Education Supplement

Whether on top of the Christmas tree, at the bottom of the garden, or in school plays, today fairiesare consideredsweet, dainty creatures with wands and butterfly wings. But, as Diane Purkiss shows, they have far more wicked origins as troublemakers, child snatchers, seducers, and changelings, representingsociety's deepest fears and desires regarding birth, sex, and death. From these dangerous beings of ancient myths and medieval folklore to the sanitized "wingy thingies" of Shakespeare and the Victorians, and even modern myths of alien abduction, this is arivetingchronicle ofthe need to...

This popular history of the English Civil War tells the story of the bloody conflict between Oliver Cromwell and Charles I from the perspectives of those involved.

In this delicious history of Britain's food traditions, Diane Purkiss invites readers on a unique journey through the centuries, exploring the development of recipes and rituals for mealtimes such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to show how food has been both a reflection of and inspiration for social continuity and change. Purkiss uses the story of food as a revelatory device to chart changing views on class, gender, and tradition through the ages. Sprinkled throughout with glorious details of historical quirks - trial by ordeal of bread, a fondness for 'small...