The Cambridgeshire village of Warboys was the scene of one of the most famous English witch trials of the sixteenth century. There, the privileged daughters of the respected Squire Throckmorton accused a cantankerous elderly neighbour of witchcraft, sending the impoverished Alice Samuel to her death.

This shocking case is the subject of a dazzling new novel The Bewitching by author Jill Dawson, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb’s guest today. It explores a neglected episode of English history to powerful effect, vividly conveying the brutal tribalism that can erupt in a closed society and how victims can be persuaded to believe in their own wickedness.

For this episode, the Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The Witches of Warboys: England's Most Famous Witch Trial