Pictures of Clay

This title is set in Pendle Hill, Lancashire, 1610. England is at the height of the Protestant reformation but in this barren, poverty-stricken spot Catholicism is still being practised and old superstitions about witchcraft still abound. Pictures of Clay tells the stories of Anne "Mother Chattox" Whittle, Elizabeth "Old Demdike" Southerns and Demdike's grand-daughter Alizon Device, who are tried for witchcraft and testify against each other to try to save their own lives. Grave-robbing, witchcraft rituals and the struggle to crush Catholicism provide a richly-textured background to this dark tale of fear, suspicion, hatred and betrayal.