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Cunning Folk
- Life in the Era of Practical Magic
- Narrated by: Anna Wilson-Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Cunning Folk transports us to a time when magic was used to solve life’s day-to-day problems – as well as some of deadly importance.
‘A brilliant book, written with wit and vigour’ MALCOLM GASKILL, author of The Ruin of All Witches
‘Absolutely fascinating’ IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time-Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England
It’s 1600 and you’ve lost your precious silver spoons, or maybe they’ve been stolen. Perhaps your child has a fever. Or you’re facing trial. Maybe you’re looking for love or escaping a husband. What do you do? In medieval and early modern Europe, your first port of call might well have been cunning folk: practitioners of magic who were a common, even essential part of daily life, at a time when the supernatural was surprisingly mundane.
Charming, thought-provoking and based on original research, Cunning Folk is an immersive reconstruction of a bygone world by an expert historian, as well as a commentary on the beauty and bafflement of being human.
‘I adore Cunning Folk. A truly fascinating and human book’ Ruth Goodman, author of How To Be a Tudor
‘Packed with vivid historical anecdotes, this is an intriguing insight into the magical lives of past people and the history of our own superstitions today’ Marion Gibson, author of Witchcraft
‘Fascinating . . . opens a window into another world’ Tracy Borman, author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I
‘Full of such magical tips and colourful vignettes . . . crackles with incident’ Kate Maltby, Financial Times
‘Spirited and richly detailed’ New York Times
What listeners say about Cunning Folk
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- Stephen
- 06-05-24
A fascinating listen!
I enjoyed this immensely. It's a fascinating look at the magical practices of the medieval and early modern period that is both informative and entertaining (and often very funny) while never condescending to ridicule the lives of the people it describes. It treats magic and the people who engaged in it with the utmost respect.
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- Rach Hewitt
- 21-08-24
Historic evidence
Research was thorough and the book flowed well through different stories and her interpretations of social history, yet its light-hearted and interesting .
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