History Books

Histories and Castles publishes books exploring the hidden forces of law, fear, myth, and power

Most history books give you dates and names. These books give you the story behind them. Explore the unseen machinery of power, the people history forgot, and the myths that shaped how ordinary medieval people understood their world.

The Devil's Neighbours by Simon A. Williams
Latest Release

The Devil's Neighbours

Fear, Betrayal and the Witchfinder General

England's deadliest witch hunt exposed. Matthew Hopkins' reign of terror across East Anglia, 1645 to 1647, when neighbours turned against neighbours and fear spread like wildfire.

October 2026 Paperback and Kindle 1645 to 1647
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The Pendle Witch Conspiracy
The Pendle Witch Conspiracy
A nine-year-old's testimony hanged her own family. Discover who benefited from the 1612 Pendle trials, and why the law believed a child over the accused.
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The Truth Behind Welsh Myths and Legends
The Truth Behind Welsh Myths
The Tylwyth Teg fairies, Coblynau knockers, and death omens were not superstition. They were working solutions to real survival problems in medieval Wales.
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No Law for the Poor
No Law for the Poor
Magna Carta changed nothing for half the population. Five centuries of how the law worked for those in power, and was built to control everyone else.
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The Grimoire
The Grimoire: A Historical Guide
Every charm in this book is labelled: medieval manuscript, centuries-old tradition, or modern reconstruction. Honest history meets practical spellcraft.
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Read individually, each book is a case file. Read together, they form an argument: that the forces which shaped ordinary medieval life were rarely the ones written into the official record.