The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe - Brian P. Levack

Levack's work is a overview of the legal, political, economic, religious, and epidemic circumstances which he argues enabled the great witch-hunts of early modern Europe. Although witches have been a lifelong interest for me, and I was eagerly anticipating reading this book, I found it kind of disappointing, to be honest.

The scope feels too broad - Levack seldom dives deeply into the particulars of any given hunt, preferring to treat the issue in very general terms. The book is surprisingly dry and even boring, which seems nearly impossible, treating as it does the lurid topics of torture, naked dancing, and burning at the stake, which in this book are described in the most clinical, repetitious passages. Levack also almost never includes direct quotes from contemporaries, which would have spiced it up considerably.

I did learn a few things, but the book could have been a third as long and 10 times more exciting. Especially on the heals of Erickson's riveting historical drama about Mary Tudor, this was pretty dull. Would not recommend.

Demons (formerly translated as The Possessed)

Finished reading Dostoevsky's "Demons" (1872) for my Russian lit class. I am huge fan of Dostoevsky, and although this is not my favorite of his works, it was still highly enjoyable. Set in a provincial Russian town in the late 19th century, "Demons" chronicles the banal intrigues of a band of revolutionary conspirators and the madness they incite in the townspeople. The novel is based in part on the real-life political murder of Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov and seeks to deride the various ideologies prominent at the time. Written about 50 years before the October Revolution, Dostoevsky's characterization of the revolutionaries is shockingly prophetic in some places.

Definitely recommend, particularly if you liked:
--"The Master and Margarita" (1940), by Mikhail Bulgakov, which is heavily influenced by this work
--"Petersburg" (1913, 1922), by Andrei Bely, also heavily influenced by Demons