Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Lindsay Squire’s Witchcraft: A Graphic History is a visually stunning and enlightening exploration of the history, myths, and magic surrounding witches, centered on the fascinating figure of Biddy Early. This graphic novel blends storytelling, history, and a touch of whimsy to craft a captivating narrative that feels both empowering and educational.

What Works:
The framing device of a young, curious 19th-century woman meeting Biddy Early adds an engaging, personal touch to the book’s historical recounting. Biddy acts as both guide and mentor, introducing readers to the magickal arts and the social and political context of witchcraft during her lifetime. Squire strikes a fine balance between historical detail and storytelling, ensuring that the narrative remains accessible while offering plenty of substance for those interested in history, magic, or both.

The inclusion of themes like feminism, self-empowerment, and eco-spirituality makes this book more than a historical account—it’s a celebration of the resilience and wisdom of women who embraced their roles as healers and community leaders, despite the stigma and dangers they faced.

Biddy Early’s story is particularly compelling. Her role as a healer who accepted barter instead of monetary payment underscores her connection to her community and her resistance to societal norms. Her eventual conflict with the Catholic Church and local authorities is a stark reminder of the challenges faced by women who lived outside conventional expectations.

The artwork is another standout feature. The graphic format brings the story to life with vibrant illustrations that capture the magic and mystery of the subject matter. The depictions of rituals, plants, and the rural Irish landscape are richly detailed, enhancing the immersive experience.

Favorite Moments:
The scenes where Biddy shares her knowledge of plant magic and healing are both fascinating and practical, offering glimpses into traditional wisdom that feel relevant even today.
The exchanges between Biddy and her inquisitive young visitor are charming and filled with warmth, giving the book a conversational tone that draws readers in.
The confrontation with the Church and local authorities is a powerful moment, underscoring the societal pressures and prejudices that defined Biddy’s time.

Themes and Relevance:
The book’s focus on eco-spirituality and the connection between magic and the natural world feels particularly timely, as modern readers increasingly seek out ways to reconnect with nature. The exploration of feminism and dealing with stigma also resonates, making the historical narrative feel fresh and relevant.

Critiques:
While the graphic format is a strength, the book occasionally feels constrained by it. Some sections feel rushed, and there’s room for a deeper dive into certain aspects of Biddy’s life or the broader history of witchcraft. Additionally, while the conversational tone is charming, it might feel overly simplistic for readers looking for a more academic exploration of the subject.

Final Thoughts:
Witchcraft: A Graphic History is a vibrant and engaging introduction to the history and magic of witches, with a focus on the inspiring figure of Biddy Early. Lindsay Squire has crafted a book that is equal parts history lesson, celebration of empowerment, and visual delight. Whether you’re new to the subject or a seasoned enthusiast of all things magickal, this graphic history is sure to enchant and educate in equal measure. A perfect pick for readers looking to blend historical insight with artistic storytelling!

This is part fiction, part history, party witchy manual? This whole mix mash of things makes the book feel disjointed.

Story-wise it builds toward a conflict that leads nowhere and turns anticlimactic. The idea was there, but it was left in the air and the ending rushed.

The parts of witchcraft manual felt out of place too... things that were not existing during Biddy's time where taught by her in a way to her apprentice and to us, the readers. Even if it's not supposed to be Biddy's teachings, then it was not properly emphasised.

The witchcraft history was fun, I really enjoyed that. The art was also really beautiful, which is the main reason why I continued reading this graphic novel.

Rating: 4.25

An entertaining and informative history of Biddy Early, a witch who lived in Ireland from 1798-1874.
The illustrations were gorgeous, and there was a perfect ratio of storytelling, history about witchcraft and visuals.

Highly recommend this read to modern witches or anyone who is interested in witchcraft.

“Magic is the ability to listen to the mystery that we are all a part of. It’s a way of reading its signs and channeling its powers.”

Witchcraft (A Graphic History) was a beautiful graphic novel. It mixes History, Lore, Beliefs and Fiction by using Biddy Early’s life as a guideline.
Maybe wanting to deal with so many things was a little bit too ambitious, and lacked efficiency and got me confused. After a few pages, I decided to read the book as a whole fiction book, and my experience was a lot better after that.
The artwork is beautiful, and the pacing, fast. I loved the reflection about women’s condition, and about how figures that “don’t fit into the men’s lore” can be invisibilized. In that, following Biddy and her apprentice, and seeing her work despite the villagers’ opinions (esp the uncle, the doctor and the pastor) felt very empowering.
Rate 3.5/5

Thank you to the author, netgalley and quarto publishing group for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this graphic novel. 3.5/5 stars.

I kind of forgot I had this arc until I went to my NetGalley app and saw it was expiring. Whoops. I needed a graphic novel anyways to get me closer to my goal. This has really great art in it and the story is short but filled with historical information about one of Ireland's witches. I was expecting it to be more broad, but it was focused on her story BUT there were also mention of MANY other witches throughout Europe and other countries as well. I also just really loved the art and how the author made it a bit historical fiction by tying herself into the story as Biddy's apprentice.

Beautifully illustrated and well informed.
This book was really interesting but I found myself not the target audience.
I still would recommend it as an introduction for people interested in the subject.

There were formatting issues for me so I can't review it to the extent I would like to.

As an artist I can appreciate the color palette and it feels very earthy/nature like to me. Easy on the eyes, I wish the formatting would have been better.

Honestly it was nice to see a graphic novel about witchcraft so I had to read it. It was entertaining and I would suggest it to others.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Witchcraft: A Graphic History is a graphic novel story about an Irish witch called Biddy Early, who lived from 1798 to 1874 and is one of the earliest witches recorded in history. I'd never heard of this witch, so I was intrigued.
The illustrations were very reflective of the story and although the book touches lightly on topics within it, there's some great information included about witches and witchcraft such as: different types of witches, goddesses, herbal lore, familiars and spells.
I enjoyed the themes the book included too such as self-empowerment, rising above stigmas, and self-belief.

While the art was beautiful and there was some information I learned, I wanted to learn more from this. It felt too short and incomplete. I think a longer version of this would be exceptional! The art really is ethereal and it was interesting but I just feel like it was missing something. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

I love everything with magic or witch. This book makes me learn about some kind of witches and how they work. Not all witches are bad and evil. There are some good witch who are healing and helping people. The history about witchcraft and how the story getting intense while the characters bonding each other. I love this book!

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from this graphic novel, but I loved what I got. Having the author insert herself into the story was so cool. What an inventive way to tell the history of both witchcraft and a specific character without it getting boring or just pure fact.

Speaking of facts, the sections between the ‘chapters’ of the story were both fun and informative. I didn’t know a lot about witchcraft before reading this, one of the main reasons why I picked it up, and I now feel like I know so much more. I’d always assumed the Salem witch trials was the biggest witch hunt in history purely based on the fact that it’s the most well known, but that’s not true. What an eye opening graphic novel.

The art style fit the theme perfectly. I loved the character designs and the environments were the right amount of detailed. I’ve always said witchy graphic novels have some of the best art styles and I still stand by that statement.

This graphic novel is a great introduction to the history of witchcraft. Fun, informative and filled with gorgeous illustrations. I’d highly recommend it.

This book follows a semi-fictionalised telling of the story of Biddy Early, Ireland's "most famous witch" - an inspirational woman and one of very few accused of witchcraft that went on to live to tell the tale.

The artwork in this is absolutely beautiful, especially the colour palette that was chosen.

The story itself includes a self-insert character of the author, playing the part of a wholly fictional apprentice to Biddy, and we learn along with her some of the aspects of herbal medicine and witchcraft Biddy may have practiced.

There are a lot of interesting historical facts thrown in about both the history of various witch trials around the world, as well as information on plants, folklore, and some of the types of witchcraft practiced today.

However, as a result, things do feel a little all over the place at times, and I feel this could have easily been a graphic history of witchcraft and/or witch trials without the somewhat forced story of Lindsay the child apprentice shoe-horned in. The story seems to lead one place or another more than once, then moves on each time with no resolution, as we're presented with a few more facts.

I can see what the author was going for with this, but unfortunately it fails in trying to be too many things at once. I will say though, that it's made me want to learn more about Biddy Early, so I appreciate the starting point it's given me to do my own research :)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!
This was such a quick and lovely read, I love the art style and story so much

Very beautiful book and is likely to sell in a shop based on the title and illustrations alone. I'm not entirely sure who the audience or intended age range is, though. This book would have been 5 stars with more focus - by choosing the Biddy and apprentice story, or a fuller history of historical witchy women, or by presenting magical herbs etc. As is, it's quite awkward, throwing in a lot of miscellaneous information from many eras, then bouncing back to the fictional story. The book would also benefit from a clear magical or spiritual viewpoint - it's very Wicca and Irish-inspired, but it presents itself as a magical book influenced by many historical figures and different cultures. It also presents terms like "grey witch" and "kitchen witch" alongside terms like Wicca (an actual specific magical path, which is very celtic and norse influenced.) I will be looking out for future work by the illustrator!

Witchcraft: A Graphic History is a glimpse into the lives of witches, mostly focused on Biddy Early. A young girl learns how magic works and how to perform witchcraft after meeting Biddy, while the audience receives facts and guidance on both witchcraft and the history of witches.

The art is wonderful, and I love that the message throughout doesn't seem to be "Witches are real" (which seems too simple and definitive) but instead about finding balance in the world. Working with nature, caring for one another, and manifesting results in your life. That's the message I took from this book.

A beautifully illustrated and engaging story of a famous Irish healer with lots of bite-sized historical tidbits and recipes thrown in.

Framed around a story of a young apprentice, Biddy, who takes lessons from a famous historical witch, Biddy Early. As the story moves on, Biddy teaches Lindsay the basics of witchcraft while also highlighting the ways witches practice. The story sets up well for the lessons. There is also inclusion on how witches were persecuted. While set in a specific time period, the story is also timeless as explanations include modern practices. A fantastic introduction on Witchcraft in a lovely graphic novel format. Add to your shelves.

cute, sweet, light-hearted. i loved the art, but i wish it was a little longer, and focused on several different historical witches, rather than just one.

The illustrations are gorgeous. It is a good book to read for more information on witchcraft throughout Europe. The way fiction and nonfiction were bind together worked perfectly.

This graphic novel is such a gem! It blends the story of Biddy Early, an iconic Irish witch, with the rich history of witchcraft in the most magical way, plus the illustrations are absolutely stunning. Perfect for anyone looking to dive into a cozy read this fall / winter.