The radical philosopher, father of Mary Shelley, surveys the people who claimed or were credited with magical power, from the ancient world through popes, scholars and alchemists of the Middle Ages to the witch-trials of the seventeenth century. His purpose is to show how far human credulity has gone, and he writes with sceptical, humane curiosity.
An 1834 classic of the history of magic, still entertaining and full of strange lives. Download the free EPUB.