Religion and the Decline of Magic

First published in 1971, this study of England from the Reformation to the late seventeenth century asks why astrology, witchcraft, healing charms, prophecy, and other popular magical practices lost authority. Thomas sets them against prayer, providence, and the official church, then against new science, insurance, and more regular government. Trial records, diaries, and cheap print show how people used magic to explain misfortune and to seek control of weather, health, and the future. The decline is treated as uneven and social, not as a simple victory of reason over superstition. The book is social and intellectual history, not a history of science alone.

Bound in dark blue cloth gilt blocked on covers with a design. Colour bound-in plates. Two-volume pale brown slipcase with dark blue image printed front.