Book review: Reproductive Rites: The Real-Life Witches and Witch Hunts in the Centuries-Long Fight for Abortion

Sophie Saint Thomas’ latest book tackles reproductive rights, systemic injustices, and lack of bodily autonomy issues for women throughout the ages. According to an old medical papyrus, she writes, it’s been proven that ancient Egyptians used birth control and emmenagogues or abortifacients. Through withdrawal, suppositories, barrier methods, and nature’s own herbal pharmacy, earlier peoples learned by trial and error how to limit or encourage pregnancies as needed.

While misogyny certainly existed back then, it grew exponentially with the Roman Empire converting to Christianity—and controlled by (purportedly) celibate, cloistered men. After all, German monk Martin Luther (95 Theses) said “let [women] bear children to death. … They were created for that.” Although Catholic church policy was against birth control, some leaders like Saint Augustine of Hippo believed abortion was acceptable before a clearly human shape formed or the “ensoulment” of a fetus occurred.

For witches, Saint Thomas includes French midwife, abortion provider, and fortuneteller Catherine Monvoisin, who also provided deadly poisons and performed Black Masses for her clients. She was burned at the stake for witchcraft in 1680. In more modern times, Laurie Cabot (b. 1933) was designated the Official Witch of Salem in 1977 by the Massachusetts governor.

For witch hunts, Saint Thomas relies on Stacy Schiff’s The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem—a book lambasted by Jane Kamensky in the New York Times—causing her to repeat debunked information. For example, trial documents refer to Tituba as an Indian servant. After being released from jail, she disappears from the historical record. She later becomes known as Tituba the Black Witch of Salem. Saint Thomas says, “this indicates that she was associated with black magic … [but] it could also have a more straightforward explanation: her skin color.” Fifty years ago, Chadwick Hansen proved that Tituba’s metamorphosis from an Indian to a Black person occurred and was based on prevalent 19th-century racism, which in turn made Tituba the scapegoat for the Salem witch trials (New England Quarterly, March 1974).

For centuries, witches have been associated with Satan, since the (female) witch’s power comes from her pact with the (male) Devil. Between Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, Saint Thomas shows how wild ideas about devil-worshipping sex groups, Black Masses, and child sacrifices became rampant in the news.

And that’s how the Christian right uses Americans’ fears to demonize any person or movement supporting reproductive rights.

Written in a pop-history style, Saint Thomas makes accessible 4,000 years of health care. With Roe v. Wade overturned in 2022, reproductive justice is on the ballot in 2024. The difference between Republican and Democratic platforms are starkly different. As a reminder, Saint Thomas points out that Justice Samuel Alito cited 17th-century jurist Matthew Hale when announcing the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. “Hale asserted that marital rape could not constitute a crime.” 

Your vote matters.

rating: ★★★★

Reproductive Rites: The Real-Life Witches and Witch Hunts in the Centuries-Long Fight for Abortion
by Sophie Saint Thomas
Running Press 

Book review: The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals

With its beautiful watercolors, The Royal Palaces is the perfect keepsake for the places you’ve visited in Britain or ones that you wish to. But it’s more than that. Kate Williams is an expert on the British monarchy and she’s filled the pages with fascinating details—beyond when and which royals lived at each location, when it was built and in which architectural style, who made renovations, and if it’s still in use or in ruins and why.

For example, Windsor Castle was first built by William the Conqueror of 1066 fame and today is the oldest inhabited castle in the world. Henry VIII and his favorite bride Jane Seymour are buried there, but without all the pomp that he had planned. Windsor also was a favorite of Queen Victoria, even though she almost met her demise there eight times!

With brother Edward VI on the throne, young Elizabeth lived with her father Henry VIII’s widow Katherine Parr until improprieties forced her to leave. She was at Hatfield House when she found out sister Mary had died and she had become queen.

At Lochleven Castle, Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate her crown, shortly after a traumatic miscarriage of twins fathered by a man she’d been coerced into marrying. Yet George I and his son George II blithefully kept their mistresses and illegitimate offspring at St. James Palace while on the throne. And, not surprisingly, there’s at least one secret passage from one royal residence to another.

Amid the opulence or decay of these 30 royal homes, you’ll learn of intriguing stories that will bring history to life.

rating: ★★★★

The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals
by Kate Williams
Quarto Publishing Group

Book review: Men Have Called Her Crazy

Men Have Called Her Crazy begins with Anna Marie Tendler’s arrival at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. After five years with her therapist, the two have come to an impasse. By taking a more intensive approach to her mental health, Anna discovers her therapist’s evaluation of her intense suicidal ideation, self-harm, and disordered eating is much more nuanced than that.

Anna’s forthright manner makes the reader comfortable with the in-patient setting. She not only explains what goes on in the admittance process, for example, but why it’s necessary. After all, readers are curious! She describes what the daily structure is like and how patients interact within this bubble. So it is not something terrifying like Girl, Interrupted nor a luxury detox rehab.

Anna arrives at the medical campus angry and distrustful of men following a failed marriage. She refuses to live in a co-ed dorm and eating meals with men makes her uncomfortable. Most of her doctors are men, however, and as Anna correctly explains, the standard for modern psychology is based on straight, white, cis-gendered males. Using clinical testing techniques in a live-in setting—and most importantly, explaining their conclusions to Anna—the doctors help Anna start to rebuild her foundation. And while her experience is generally positive, it’s a harsh reminder of how doctors—and men in general—oversimplify the complexities that women present, often with little context.

Part of dealing with psychological issues is confronting the past. Anna weaves in scenes from her traumatic childhood, age-inappropriate exploits, artistic endeavors and failures, lavish parties with a condescending millionaire, and hanging around Hollywood sets. Men are featured as vignettes that explain her psyche, while her nameless ex-husband hovers in the book’s shadows.

By writing her memoir, Anna regains her own power. Throughout it all, she relies on the strengths of her female friendships and the love for her dog Petunia. She chooses the narrative—instead of letting the tabloids do it.

rating: ★★★★★

Men Have Called Her Crazy
by Anna Marie Tendler
Simon & Schuster

Book review: Vampires: A Handbook of History & Lore of the Undead

It’s ironic that 15th-century Vlad the Impaler became mixed up with the folklore of a bloodsucking vampire. Vlad III of Wallachia, son of Vlad II Dracul, was known for his military exploits. And while he did own a castle in Transylvania (present-day Romania), Prince Vlad wasn’t the intimate type who would suck the lifeblood of his victims. Instead, he preferred impaling his enemies on wooden stakes, watching them writhe in agony until death overtook them.

Bram Stoker may have used Vlad’s home, his Dracula title, and his age—centuries old—in the 1897 gothic horror novel, but not the man’s character. In Stoker's book, Count Dracula displayed aristocratic demeanor and charm, despite living in a crumbling castle.

In Vampires: A Handbook of History & Lore of the Undead by Agnes Hollyhock, we learn the Count was a revenant, a reanimated corpse who haunted the living. While we may be accustomed to the stylings of Dracula through such characters as Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows, Lestat de Lioncourt from The Vampire Chronicles, or Edward Cullen from Twilight, different kinds of vampires show up in mythology, folklore, fiction, and even the Bible. 

Hollyhock covers vampires around the world and across the ages, their strengths and weaknesses, connections to certain diseases, and, most fascinating to me, why the idea of vampirism grew during the Medieval ages. 

Luckily, the author provides techniques for banishing the undead—you know, just in case. After all, there are rumors about Vlad the Impaler's demise, including his beheading, but no one knows for certain where his body is buried.

rating: ★★★★

Vampires: A Handbook of History & Lore of the Undead

by Agnes Hollyhock
Wellfleet Press

Book review: Cult Following: The Extreme Sects That Capture Our Imaginations―and Take Over Our Lives

J.W. Ocker’s compass leads him to oddities the world over, so writing about cults is definitely within his milieu. This time, it’s not a travelogue and thankfully not an immersive experience, since it’s difficult to extract people from cults. Then we’d miss out on Ocker’s way with words, like heading a chapter “A Fetish for Feet and Fraud,” or his important clues to avoid joining such a sect.

What’s scary is cult followers are seeking acceptance and purpose in their lives, and they’re not so different from you and me. Ocker neatly uses what they seek as section heads: truth, protection, purpose, salvation, and/or betterment. He also explains the attributes of the leaders, who tend to be charismatic but have deep flaws, and why people follow them. What struck me most was how many cults believe in aliens and being saved from apocalypses.

You’ve heard of the Branch Davidians, the Manson Family, and Heaven’s Gate in the media. It’s like we’re compelled to tune in to these horror stories. Ocker explains how 30 cults formed, their beliefs, and their outcomes. He also mentions well-known people who were adherents and survived as well as those doing prison time. Some of these cults are still active and new ones are always assembling.

A fascinating read. 

rating: ★★★★

Cult Following: The Extreme Sects That Capture Our Imaginations―and Take Over Our Lives
by J.W. Ocker
Quirk Books 

Book review: Devil's Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain

Devil's Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain by Ed Simon is a cultural extravaganza, covering theatrical works, music, art, and literature with a dash of history, science, and technology. It would make an interesting multimedia presentation if the book were packaged with Tartini’s “Devil’s Trill Sonata” and Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues,” scenes from Marlowe and Goethe plays, and art by Goya and Delacroix. After all, not all these works are familiar to the average reader.

Some early stories from the Bible and Apocrypha don’t fulfill the devil’s contract. For instance, Jesus wandered 40 days in the wilderness and rejected the devil’s tests. Simon Magus—a sorcerer who bewitched the people of Samaria—listened to Philip the Evangelist preach, believed, and was baptized. But when Simon saw the apostles laying on of hands, he wanted to buy that power, but was denied. Author Ed Simon uses these stories to set up the next stage.

During the Inquisitions and subsequent witch trials, interrogators steeped in demonology coerced victims under torture to claim relationships with the devil. That contract needed a name. So, in the late 16th century, German alchemist and sorcerer Johann Faust went from folk legend to the archetype of one who sold his soul to the devil. His supposed deed influenced writers, artists, musicians, and more. In fact, Simon even gets into a groove where his phraseology changes, skipping over verbs, waxing lyrical.

And then he comes crashing down. By chapter 10, Simon inserts his 21st century ideals onto 17th century life in the New World when writing about the 1692 Salem witch trials. He also, like many high school English teachers, gets caught up in Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible, which rewrites actual history into a story of an affair that never happened.

Simon then trounces the Puritans and their Calvinist religion hard, with their theft of native lands, slavery, misogyny, and belief in predestination. Here, he believes that the Faustian bargain is written in the town charters, not between, say, the devil and an accused witch.

Curiously, though, by the third generation—around the time of the witch trials—many Massachusetts Bay people were moving away from Calvinism, forcing religious leaders to compromise with the Halfway Covenant and other religious principles. Plus, the dying off of the older generations—like Judge William Stoughton—also made way for more liberal ideas and beliefs, leading to another revolt of “no taxation without representation.”

But Simon doesn’t acknowledge that progress and holds Salem—not Boston, New York City, or Los Angeles—accountable for turning the United States into a Faustian Republic. Then he closes his diatribe with another religious metaphor, the Apocalypse.

Devil’s Contract begins with a journey through the Arts, then takes a wild hairpin turn. Halfway through, it’s as if Simon had a dark epiphany that changed the direction of his writing. It’s unsettling. And maybe that’s the point.

rating: ★★★

Devil's Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain
by Ed Simon
Melville House Publishing

Book review: The Shortest History of Sex

A fast-paced and often humorous read, The Shortest History of Sex covers two billion years, from the big bang and microbes all the way down the evolutionary tree to humans. The book explores how the complex sex lives of primates transformed into the weird and wonderful aspects of human sexuality from our foraging ancestors to our futuristic selves. 

Without judgment, David Baker takes us on this long, strange trip, uncovering instinctual behaviors, multifaceted passions, relationship patterns, curious desires, and so much more. You may not learn new bedroom tricks but you may be able to explain your peccadillo by saying the bonobos did it too. 

rating: ★★★★★

The Shortest History of Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation
by David Baker
The Experiment