Witchcraft: A Graphic History
Before there were ideas, symbols, rituals, and worship, witchcraft must have come from somewhere. The question is:
from where?
While there are hundreds of books that answer that question, there is also opinion on what witchcraft means. What if there was a simple and graphic way to tell that history without being overwhelming or confusing.
This is where Witchcraft: A Graphic History comes in.
Written by Lindsay Squire, who runs the popular Instagram and Facebook account @thewitchintheforest, she takes this question head on. With art by Italian artist Lisa Salsi, Witchcraft: A Graphic History takes the reader through the basics of the history of witchcraft using a younger alternate Lindsay as she interviews Biddy Early, one of the first, if not the first, witches recorded in Irish history.
Our story begins at the turn of the 19th century where young Lindsay meets Biddy Early in the forest. At first trepidatious on meeting Biddy, Lindsay’s family are very conservative church goers and do not want Lindsay around Biddy, Lindsay learns that a witch is in fact many things including a herbalist, medicine woman, and healer. Using their education of the natural world (primarily plants and flowers), these women referred to as witches were who you went to if you were feeling ill, needed medical attention, or needed a tonic. Because these women (mostly women) were independent, refused to conform, and knowledgeable about the natural world, they were seen as a threat to the local populace. Many of these women were beaten, killed, or banned from their homes.
Biddy Early tells the history of witchcraft to Lindsay as they gather plans in the forest. Witchcraft stretches back into time and there have always been witches. While most were treated badly, many were treated as goddesses in their own right.
As the history lesson continues, we have a secondary plot of the village’s thoughts on Biddy. Biddy has helped many villagers with their aches and pains but the local pastor wants to see her at least banned from the village if not eventually put to death. As Lindsay learns more about the natural world, and witchcraft itself, we watch the drama unfold around them. In the end, Biddy’s home and life are restored and Lindsay has taken on the role of Biddy’s assistant, wanting to be one of these women who help the world around them.
While the basic history of witchcraft is told, with Biddy at the center, the history of Biddy and witchcraft are scant. While the reader learns about different types of witches (green witch, hedge witch, solitary practitioner, and more) and the tools of their trade (cauldron, grimoire, besom (broom)), we do not learn that Biddy married four times or that she would live a very long life. The graphic novel is short (only 130 pages) and more details and history could easily have been added without adding fluff to the story.
I could not find much about Lisa Salsi other than she has an Instagram account, has worked on other books, and writes her Instagram captions in Italian. But! Despite the lack of information on the artist, her work caught my eye immediately. Salsi’s work presents the story in a calm and understated manner. To be sure, I would have thought given the subject the colors would be wild, deep, and colorful but no, the palette is neutral, colors are muted, and the application is watercolor like.
The language is written at roughly an 8th grade level and is very direct and not superfluous. While there is no grade or reading level attached, this graphic novel could easily be assigned and understood by a young adult. What is told in the book is enough to whet the appetite for a deeper understanding of witchcraft, herbalism, botany, Biddy herself, and other witches from Ireland and across Europe.
Witchcraft: A Graphic History  Vol.Â
By Lindsay Squire
Art by Lisa Salsi
Leaping Hare Press, 2024
ISBN: 9780711295254
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
