I really really loved the parts towards the beginning of this book that focused heavily on the history of witches and witch hunts. I wish that had more of a presence throughout the book.

However, I think is a really great foundational text on women’s issues in the Western World and is really accessible for all readers.

This was really interesting and I really liked that it had a little bit extra by including things from Frnech society. I purchased it for my library.

The persecution of witches is an ongoing war in our society. Whether women possess an independent mind, dare to exist without bearing children, are post-menopausal, or—worst of all—dare to practice medicine as a doctor or as a midwife or independent health practitioner, all of these brands of woman are fair game to be branded a witch, since white men are threatened by and are compelled to discredit she whom he cannot control. Brilliant analysis from a strong voice. The author pulls very specific examples, both contemporary and from history.

While it wasn't as much about witches as I was expecting, this is an informative collection of essays about "the war on women" that has been waged for centuries. I don't agree with all the author's assumptions or conclusions, but there's a lot to consider to broaden our perspectives. Note, this is translated from French, so it is not as US-centric as many books on the same topic.

I didn’t find this book particularly about witches but rather and argument in support of women’s rights and the feminist view.
The author describes the controversy regarding the decision to bear children. There exists some societal pressure and judgment of women who choose a life without children. She uses the history of witches as a jumping point for a research on shims and pregnancy.

The author is a prolific writer who writes about her negative experience as a child with the medical field and not feeling as if she was seen as a person and not just a patient. I found her to be a judgmental feminist who is quite sarcastic with her views on several topics. Again, I didn’t find this book about witches.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing me with this copy. My review is unbiased and unsolicited opinion.

This is a good book for people putting their toe into feminist writings. It’s very approachable and it is meticulously cited. I personally didn’t vibe with it because I thought there would be more “witches” in it and because a lot of the arguments made in the book are things I’ve already seen in other works. However, as I said, I do think this is a solid book for people interested in learning more about the issue!

This was an interesting take on the witch trials and the ways women are still on trial. I loved it!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is an interesting cultural history about the persecution of women through exploring the history of witch hunts. I found the pieces about the history of witch hunts to be really interesting, but the writer loses a bit of steam when exploring current day misogyny and persecution. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to people looking for offbeat feminist texts.

Thanks to St Martins and Netgalley for the early copy.

Due to some health issues I didn't get a chance to read this one and could not get into it. I had to just move on from it.

A super interesting deep dive into the history of women accused of witchcraft. Loved the feminist take, and this is super timely given what is going on here in the USA.

As someone with a history degree, one of the most irritating questions I get asked is along the lines of “why do you care about history, it happened so long ago, what’s the point?” I could write an entire book answering this, but instead, I’ll throw a copy of In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet at you and tell you to read it instead.

In this book, author Mona Chollet looks at the history of witch trials and why they’re still relevant today. I took multiple courses on witchcraft in university and love reading about this topic and connecting the dots between why women, in the past and now, have been persecuted against. We’re either too old, too ugly, too mysterious, too reserved (or too slutty), or a combination of all of the above. If we look at someone the wrong way, are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or wear something deemed ‘inappropriate’ by whoever is making The Decisions™️ that day, we’re to blame for everything. In the past it was a woman’s fault for her neighbor’s crop failure, today, we’re to blame for our own assaults. The madness never ends.

Regardless of the decisions that women make, people (*cough powerful, straight white men*) will find something to complain about. The chapter in this book on a women’s decision to have children hit close to home for me, as it’s something I’m constantly asked about. The decision to remain child-free is very personal, yet I’m vilified for it time and time again.

The first half of the book focuses on the history of witchcraft, whereas the latter half focuses on feminist issues and their ties to witches. Topics explored include age, children, marriage, independence, and more. It’s equal parts history lesson and social commentary, and is sure to get you riled up.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for a digital ARC of In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet via NetGalley. It went on sale on March 8, 2022, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advanced reader's copy.

If you are looking for a book about feminism.. this is that book. If you are looking for a book about the history of witches, you may want to pass.

There are some historical witchy happenings at the beginning and end of the book, yes. However, the majority of the book is about women's rights, the struggles women have had to endure throughout the years, and how some of that plays into witches.

It was not what I was expecting by any means, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.
Every single topic felt relevant to me as a woman, and I am happy to have read it. The title may have been misleading, but it is definitely a must read for all women.

First, thank you so much for the chance to read this book! It brought me back to college when I studied classics and several of my classes focused on how women were portrayed as witches - we even read passages from the Malleus Maleficarum!

Overall, I did enjoy this book and learned a bit - but it was long and repetitive. I don't know if that was partially due to the translation, but I felt like it could have used a bit more editing to get to the point, with details, but without rambling a bit.

However, I did enjoy this and appreciate the chance to have read it!

I thought this book was going to be a little different than it was. I was expecting the whole book to be about witch hunts in Europe and America. I was expecting lots of info about the Salem Witch Trial.s You did get some info but not as much as I thought.

However, I am glad I read this book. I think it was amazingly researched. The author did such a good job. With everything going on in America right now this book is so relevant. It blows my mind how woman have been treated. A woman wants to leave her man....he could turn her in as a witch? It's insane. I know if I was alive back then I would have been one of those women accused of witchcraft.

As a woman without any kids parts of this book hit different. It's nice to know I'm not alone. It is also true I've been asked when I'm having kids. I think this is a type of book you can read more than once and learn/pick up on something you didn't the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of the book! My opinions are my own.

If you have ever been interested in the witch trials, persecution of women, the stereotypes of women in their own power or connected to nature...read this book. There is so much more to it than that, but to unravel all that is spoken in these pages is difficult. It is hard to read knowing that there has been so much unnecessary hate and violence. There are so many emotions and thoughts to process after reading it. Really makes you pause are rethink things. It is a much needed book in these times. I am very grateful to have read it. Highly recommend.

who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed?
This book was simply fantastic. The author dives deep into the kind of women that were accused of witchcraft. And spoiler alert, none of them were really witches. This should be mandatory reading for everyone, especially in today's society

Really interesting book when it focuses on the history of witches, witchhunts, historical oppression of independent women, and the use of witches as a feminist metaphor. The book becomes a bit more mundane in the last third when it covers important issues like marriage, the medical establishment, looks, etc. but from a more straightforward non-witch focused point of view. Also quite interesting to see a French point of view on feminist theory and issues.

A non-fiction book celebrating the witch as a symbol of female rebellion. I wanted to love this one SO MUCH but it didn’t do anything for me. It kind of felt like there weren’t any new ideas in here - just making some links that we already knew. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy!

In the Defense of Witches is a modern look at the of women throughout history up to modern day. It gives many examples of the way women were tread upon as well as the weight put on their aging.

This was an interesting read filled with tibits of history that I was unaware of while looking at the effects this had on women of that day and today. The author puts together many arguments on how these critiqued areas of a women's life and her personality can be linked back into what led to many women being tried and ultimately put to death as witches. Not as many were found dancing naked in the moonlight as you might expect; some of these were simply women who decided to think for themselves rather than taking a man's word as gospel.

I recommend this to anyone looking into the history of witchcraft and the wrongly persecuted women to better understand what they experienced at the hands of men who couldn't control them. Age range of 14+ as there is some sexual topics not sutable for younger readers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I really love reading about witches, but this was more about feminism. Which I usually like too, but this was way too heteronormative & I gave up about halfway through.