adventurous informative lighthearted fast-paced
3.75 rounded up to 4


The illustrations are beautiful 4.5/5
However guide to witch craft content & the story of buddy early 3/5

I think there are visual glossary pages are great - they give an introduction to key terms. The book covers list of the concepts in a beautiful way form merfolk to tools.
However the main story about Biddy Early is lack lustre and could definitely do with more expansion.

I can’t attest to the accuracy from a Wiccan perspective but merely as a reader who enjoys witchy things .


Ideal reader:
Someone more interested in visuals over content
A visual learner looking for intro into witchcraft

This was a reasonably good look at Witchcraft through the lens of a single witch, Biddy Early.

It looked at various aspects of the craft and interwove these into a fictional historic reenactment of a period in Biddy's life.

For me it was a bit too twee and sweet and didn't really go into any great depth of the history of witchcraft, just this one period in one life with some banal info panels about the history of the various trials and laws that were around in Western Europe.

Reasonable read but just a bit meh really.

The graphic novel starts with one of my least favorite quotes I see on every Salem tourists overpriced t-shirt: "We are granddaughters of the women you did not burn." Now...this is a better departure of the "witches you did not burn" version but still, my shackles are immediately up.

The story is a fictionalized version of the author meeting the herbalist Biddy Early and the story used references from Biddy's history. This not only is wildly speculative about her work with witchcraft, but the fictionalized Biddy talks about forms of witchcraft that are contemporary to us. "Hedge Witch" was not coined until 1990. "Wiccan" is a neo-pagan tradition. No only does this feel clunky, it's leaving out indigenous practices of witchcraft like many books before it. Also the art whitewashes Tituba!!!

While the information in it is mostly sound and the illustrations very lovely, it's taking on too much with a very strange plot.

Squire would have done better to put her efforts into a modern graphic teaching of different kinds of witchcraft rather than try to weave a story with a woman who most likely did not consider herself a witch but rather a healer or herbalist.

I cannot in good faith recommend this to someone wanting to learn about witchcraft.

This graphic novel offers a brief but encompassing history and understanding of witchcraft. I enjoyed the mixture of storytelling with history and types of magic. The lack of transition between the story and the history could be awkward at times.
Overall, this is a quick and enjoyable read for anyone interested in witchcraft, both in history and as a guide. This worked quite well in graphic novel form and the illustrations are beautiful!

3 out of 5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Leaping Hare Press for the free ebook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have always found witches fascinating. That also made Witchcraft: A Graphic History an interesting book to pick up, because who wouldn't want a condensed story of witchcraft in a historical setting?

When I went into this graphic novel, I was expecting to learn more about witchcraft as a craft, but also of historical figures in a more biographical way. You could definitely argue for me receiving both, but it unfortunately didn't quite live up to the expectations.
Biddy Early is such an interesting historical figure, whom I didn't know of before reading Witchcraft. There is all the potential for an amazing story, which is then ruined by the fictional relationship with her apprentice, who is a self-inset from the author. This makes a book, which wants to be biographical, seem way too fictional to really capture this reader. If the apprenticeship didn't make up most of the main story it might've been easier to believe in the story, but that unfortunately isn't the case here.

I did, however, like the small infodumps sprinkled throughout the story. Usually I'm not much for this kind of deep dive into an educational topic in the middle of a story, but due to the nature of a graphic novel, I think it's neatly presented and bite/size enough to work as a light introduction to people who gathered an interest for witchcraft.

This is a fast read, and while the montage of events makes sense for the size of the book, I did miss a bigger exploration of the trial and a final conclusion to this specific event in the book. This book could easily have been another 100-150 pages long to make the story more full-fledged.
All in all it's an okay read, and might be a good preparation to understanding some of the details in other witch fiction you want to pick up, but the story of Witchcraft in itself left me wanting more depth.

Fall is upon us and with it the promise of Halloween, which makes us dream of darkness, monsters and witches (amongst others). But before that fateful evening arrives, why not take some time to sit comfortably with a blanket and a hot tea, listen to the rain striking the windows and learn about real life witches ? That's what i did ! When i got on NetGalley and acquired a copy of Witchcraft : A Graphic History by Lindsay Squire and Lisa Salsi, that's all i wanted to do as i heard the rumbling of an oncoming storm. I don't read a lot of graphic novels or comics, which is a shame given i love them. This one piqued my interest immediately (call it a sign !).
I devoured it. The artwork is beautiful and truly serves the narrative. The soft colours, the bold lines, the textures.. There was nothing that didn't draw my eye (page 18 is one of my favourites in terms of illustrations). The story in itself was very well recounted and i enjoyed learning some true historical facts through such a nicely told fiction. Indeed the research that went into this graphic novel is to be praised. History of the witch trials, history of magical practices, bestiary of witchy familiars and fantastical creatures, we've got everything in there ! I liked these little bits of knowledge that were interspersed between slices of Biddy Early's life. It made the whole learning bit may more digestible.
I had never heard of Biddy Early but am glad i found this book to teach me about her life and her legacy. The foreword by the author, a sort of short biography before the comic, helped immensely to understand who this woman was and why she is so important no only for witches but for women in general.
The only bit that left me wanting more was the fact that the trial was not portrayed in the comic. The foreword goes over it but i would've loved to see it illustrated. However i can understand why it wasn't as the comic portion of that book focused more on the relationship between Biddy and her young apprentice and all the lessons she had to teach her.

All in all, i had a very nice time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn a little bit more about witchcraft and famous witches while looking at wonderful illustrations.

- this review will be up on my instagram in the upcoming days

This was a super quick read. I was reading it on my device with a smaller screen and it was hard to read the text because it is a graphic novel. So I would say that if you want to read it, getting the actual physical book would probably be the best bet for you.

I feel like it is a nice overview of what things are within the magical world, but I did wish that it told a little bit more about the story of the main character.

I thought the artwork was very beautiful and the explanations for things were nice.

There was one part of the book that I did in 100% agree on was that magic had no place with religion and with science. I don't think that that is true but it is what the author put out there.

It was a very quick read. So, it doesn't take up a lot of time to complete it. I would put this in the maybe read if you're interested category because it's so short.

This was a wonderful graphic novel. The art style was beautiful.
I wasn't familiar with the story of Biddy Early before, but it was very nice to learn about her and Lindsay. I liked how there were many historical facts added whenever there was the possibility to expand on something the protagonist was explaining, added to the mention of all these folk being that we usually see in fairytales and fantasy novels, and how the new takes on them differ from the original descriptions.
Once again, the art style was really wonderful and full of life. The color palette was amazing as well.
Some text was not centered inside the text bubbles/squares (sometimes fully outside) but I'm sure that will be fixed in the physical copies of the novel.
I'll be happy to recommend this, and would definitely purchase a physical copy to gift to friends of mine who are very interested in the subject or have been practicing some sort of witchcraft for some time now.

I sadly cannot say i enjoyed this book. With the cover and tittle i was very excited to learn more. However, it feels like this book doesnt know what it wants to be. Is it a graphic novel? Is it non fiction? Is it fiction? Who is the audience? The idea of weaving story with histroy and information is interesting, but i feel like with the graphic novel format caused confusion. The art was beautiful

Well this was just so charming! Perfect introduction to the history of witchcraft for younger readers and for those who just want to know more. A fun quick read about a real life witch. The art style was also so pretty. Would definitely recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley, Quarto Publishing Group - Leaping Hare, and Lindsay Squire for the opportunity to read this eARC.

The first thing that drew me in was seeing a graphic novel about Witchcraft followed by the beautiful cover illustrations! Lisa Salsi does a spectacular job illustrating this story.

This tells the story of Biddy Early, the Irish witch who practiced Folk Magic. She was known for helping neighbors with herbal remedies along with being accused of witchcraft yet having the case dismissed for lack of evidence.

This would make a great introduction to the history of Biddy and the fictionalized aspects don’t detract from the information provided.

So, I wasn't a big fan of this one. The art is great and honestly the best part of this one. However, the title is quite misleading, as it appears to be nonfiction. There are definitely nonfiction elements to this graphic novel, but for the most part it is very much an original story using Biddy Early almost like a plot device.

This was honestly a big let down, but I'll live.

2/5

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book. It was such a delight to read! It was so cute and sweet and also fun to read about a real person in history and find out about that time period. I loved the happy ending as well. I highly recommend this for graphic novel fans or fans of books about witches! A very quick and easy read, I read it in like 30 minutes. Also perfect for spooky season!

This graphic book is based on a true story, that of Biddy Early, an Irish herbalist/witch who lived during the 19th century. The story is compelling and full of interesting historical facts about the tragic fate of healers and other knowledgable men and women who only dared to live differently from the rest of their villages at a time when being different was seen as evil.
I would've liked for the ending to feel less rushed (the trial of Biddy was completely omitted), but it was a good read. The friendship turned mentor/mentee with the little girl is well written.

This book was really lovely and pretty, and I think would be fun and more appropriate for an audience younger than myself, but I did enjoy it. It was a very quick read and a beautiful layout.

This book is about Biddy Early (1798–1874), an Irish witch who learned her healing magic from the fairies. Her story is interspersed with informative spreads about other notable witches, types of magical creatures, herbs, etc.
The artwork is lovely from the color choices to the depictions of nature and Irish cottages. I also love seeing some positive pagan Irish representation.
Since the main story follows Biddy Early, I was expecting some depictions of what is mentioned in the introduction (that she was brought to court and then released) and in the book's description (that Biddy would swap alcohol for her healing services and that made her cottage a hub of the community).
Instead the focus is split two ways. One, following a fictional relationship with a young apprentice, and two, informative spreads about generally witchy things.
I understand that this is marketed as a graphic history of witchcraft, but I think it would serve the story better to choose to focus on Biddy's story, especially the historical events that are known.
Overall, it was a touch too surface level for my tastes and seemed more fit for a younger reader.

2 stars - It was ok

Witchcraft: A Graphic History tells the story of Biddy Early, a famous wise woman in Ireland who was tried as a witch. This is a dramatized version of her story and the relationship but the relationship between her and her apprentice is false and is just used as an element to move the story along.

I found this graphic novel to just be ok because this is supposed to be a nonfiction graphic telling the story of a witch’s life, but instead we have this fake apprenticeship that basically becomes the main story. I wanted this to focus on Biddy and the facts of her life but instead we see mostly the teacher/apprentice storyline.

Another issue I had with the story is that we see Biddy being given a court order for being accused of witchcraft but we don’t see how that trial plays out, only how the townspeople react to it. I really wanted to know how this trial went without having to go to Google to find out.

In between the story of Biddy and her apprentice we get brief informational sections about witchcraft, famously accused women, and witch hunts. I really liked these informational sections and think they were a great way to give brief info dumps on witchcraft. But, they only discussed women and so felt very exclusionary.

My last real issue is with the title. I went into this expecting a graphic novel discussing many women who have been accused of witchcraft and the history behind it. Instead this focuses only on one woman, so I think the title should have said ‘story of a wise woman’ or ‘story of Biddy Early’ to be more accurate.

Overall, this was an ok story with beautiful graphics. If it had been more focused on the actual history of witchcraft or on Biddy’s history, I probably would have enjoyed this more.

As a witch, I loved reading this. I do feel like the graphic novel's story was bogged down by the factual information shared. I realize that it's nonfiction, but it took me out of Biddy's story quite a bit. I do love the honest representation of the practice, though!

3,5 ★

German review
(English review below!)

Lindsay Squite erzählt in "Witchcraft: A Graphic History" wie das Leben von Bridget "Biddy" Early, einer irischen Heilerin, die während des 19. Jahrhunderts gelebt und der Hexerei angeklagt wurde, ausgesehen haben könnte und fügt eine jüngere Version ihrer selbst als Lehrling in die Geschichte ein.

Die Handlung wird immer wieder durch Seiten mit kurzen Informationen unterbrochen, zum Beispiel über die verschiedenen Arten von Hexen, Kräutern, magischen Wesen, Bräuche oder den Hexenprozessen. Dabei ist alles sehr hübsch illustriert. Es ist offensichtlich, dass viel Wissen, Sorgfalt und Liebe in die Geschichte gesteckt wurde.

Es war sehr interessant, mehr über Hexerei zu erfahren, allerdings deckt die Geschichte nur die Grundlagen ab. Ich hätte mir eine ausführlichere Darstellung von Biddys Leben, der Rituale und der Hexenverfolgung gewünscht. Außerdem hat mich die Geschichte bei der Auffassung verloren, dass es magische Kreaturen in Wirklichkeit gibt.

Allgemein ein sehr süßes und informatives Graphic Novel, geeignet für jeden, der unvoreingenommen ist und sich für Hexerei interessiert.

Vielen Dank an Netgalley und Leaping Hare Press für die Möglichkeit, dieses Buch im Austausch gegen eine ehrliche Rezension vorab lesen zu dürfen.


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English review

In "Witchcraft: A Graphic History", Lindsay Squite tells what the life of Bridget “Biddy” Early, an Irish healer who lived during the 19th century and was accused of witchcraft, might have been like and inserts a younger version of herself as an apprentice into the story.

The plot is repeatedly interrupted by pages of brief information, for example about the different types of witches, herbs, magical creatures, rituals or the witch trials. Everything is beautifully illustrated. It is obvious that a lot of knowledge, care and love has been put into the story.

It was very interesting to learn more about witchcraft, but the story only covers the basics. I would have liked a more in-depth portrayal of Biddys life, the rituals and witch hunts. Also, the story lost me at the conception that magical creatures do exist.

Overall, a very cute and informative graphic novel, suitable for anyone with an open mind and an interest in witchcraft.

Thank you to Netgalley and Leaping Hare Press for the opportunity to pre-read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this graphic novel has an audience, for people who are fascinated by witches (not the dark parts, but the natural, healer aspects) and magic, but I’m not that audience.

With a short foreword, this graphic novel tells a fictionalized account of Biddy Early, a real person who on Wikipedia is called an herbalist and diviner and was falsely accused of witchcraft, but is presented here as a witch. It talks a bit about different types of witches, a brief history of witches and magic, what they do and how they’re not like how they have been depicted in history, and the treatment/ostracism they have received because they didn’t fit with society’s expectation. The story itself isn’t much of a story, more used as a vehicle to explain witchcraft, so it reads a bit like it’s aimed at kids, but I can’t tell if that was the intent.

It’s very earnest with how it talks about witches and magic, so if you don’t believe in that I don’t think you’d enjoy this very much. The illustrations are nice, very pastel and charming.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!