In 1645 in an England ravaged by civil war, disease, apocalyptic omens, and a general culture of religious paranoia and fundamentalism, two men began interrogating women suspected of witchcraft, triggering the most brutal witch-hunt in English history. This is the fascinating and horrifying history of how John Stearne and "Witchfinder General" Matthew Hopkins took their campaign of zealotry and misogyny across the nation, using torture and blackmail to extract confessions of satanic pacts and executing their victims, exploiting the anxiety and political upheaval of their time and cheered on by ordinary people. Read it as a vital history and a cautionary tale.