Political Exploitation of Witchcraft Accusations in The Book of Witching

Thematic Claim: Witchcraft Accusations as a Political Instrument

In The Book of Witching, C.J. Cooke presents witchcraft accusations not as responses to genuine supernatural threats but as a manufactured political tool. The novel’s historical narrative shows how the Earl of Orkney and his allies weaponize accusations of witchcraft to consolidate power, distract from financial and political debts, and silence opponents. The theme is established in the opening historical note, developed through the trial of Alison Balfour, and complicated by the ways in which both the accused and the community become entangled in the machinery of accusation. The novel argues that witchcraft trials are less about devilry than about the ruthless calculus of authority—who gets to define evil, and who pays the price for that definition.

The Prologue: Debt, Illness, and the Convenience of Witchcraft

The novel’s prologue immediately frames witchcraft as a political convenience. In a letter to King James VI, Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, first addresses his outstanding debts, promising they will soon be settled, before reporting his illness and his brother’s alleged plot to usurp the earldom. Stewart claims that witchcraft lies behind both his brother’s machinations and his own distemper. This sequence is telling: the earl’s financial troubles are mentioned first, then the accusation of witchcraft is deployed to explain away his political vulnerability. By framing his brother’s challenge as demonic rather than dynastic, Stewart seeks to align himself with the king’s own fears of witchcraft—reminding James of his survival at sea and the justice he wrought against those who threatened him. The accusation becomes a way to deflect attention from his debts and to cast his enemies as agents of Satan, thereby justifying any retribution. This opening establishes the central mechanism of the theme: witchcraft is a label applied to those who threaten the earl’s authority, not a description of actual practices.

The Trial: Manufactured Evidence and Coerced Testimony

The trial of Alison Balfour, as depicted in chapters 8, 17, 24, and 32, demonstrates how the political machinery of accusation operates. Alison is arrested on suspicion of witchcraft after John Stewart, the earl’s illegitimate brother, approaches her in a public place to ask for a charm—an encounter that later becomes evidence against her. The arrest itself is a show of force: officers arrive with a carriage, and when Alison’s son Edward intervenes, he is struck with a truncheon. The accusation is not based on any observed supernatural act but on a manufactured connection to Thomas Paplay, a man already executed for conspiring to kill the earl. Father Colville, the king’s chamberlain, orchestrates the trial with theatrical precision. He produces a wax charm inscribed with the word “Nyx,” claiming it is a hexing tool, and links it to Alison through a sack found in Paplay’s possession. The evidence is flimsy—Alison denies recognizing the charm—but the court’s purpose is not to establish truth. Colville’s interrogation of Alison’s husband William reveals the deeper strategy: he conflates the roles of spaewife and witch, asking “what is the difference between a witch and a spaewife?” and thereby erasing any distinction between healing and maleficium. The trial becomes a performance in which the accused’s identity is rewritten to fit the political narrative.

The testimony of Elspeth MacGruer, a former friend, further illustrates how the accusation process recruits community members. Elspeth’s words are clearly coached—Alison notes that “her words are not her own” and that her speech is slowed as if someone else has placed the words in her mouth. The trial thus depends on the collaboration of ordinary people, who are manipulated into providing the moral cover for the political purge. The bishops, representing ecclesiastical authority, are complicit in this spectacle, nodding at Colville’s insinuations and allowing the proceedings to continue without any genuine inquiry.

The Confession: Coercion and the Cost of Silence

The climax of the theme occurs in Alison’s forced confession, depicted in chapter 45. After enduring torture—including the torture of her husband, son, and daughter—Alison agrees to confess. Her internal monologue reveals the political stakes: “If I confess, Orkney will fall. The king will be persuaded by Earl Patrick that the same witchery that almost claimed his life in the North Sea also exists here and must be eradicated. And Earl Patrick will use this as license to increase his tyranny on our land.” This passage makes explicit the connection between the accusation and the earl’s political ambitions. Alison’s confession is not an admission of guilt but a calculated sacrifice to spare her children. Father Colville dictates the confession, repeating her words in a loud voice for the scribe, and even adds his own commentary about her “dull intellect” and “voice of a mouse.” The confession is a scripted performance, designed to legitimize the earl’s authority and to provide a pretext for further persecution.

The novel’s Author’s Note adds a historical layer to this theme. Cooke records that Alison Balfour was the first of at least seventy-two people executed for witchcraft in Orkney, and that her retraction was unusually recorded—a detail that a professor suggests indicates the prosecution lost control of the trial. This historical footnote underscores the novel’s argument: even in the real record, the machinery of accusation was not seamless. The recording of Alison’s retraction hints at a moment of rupture, a crack in the political edifice. Yet the outcome remains tragic: Alison is executed, and the earl’s tyranny continues until his own downfall.

Symbolic Dimensions: The Book, the Triskele, and Fire

The novel’s symbols reinforce the theme of political exploitation. The Book of Witching itself—a book with black pages that cannot be destroyed—represents the power of narrative and the way stories are weaponized. In the epilogue, the book resurfaces in the modern timeline, whispering to a child, suggesting that the cycle of accusation and fear persists across centuries. The triskele symbol is used as evidence against Alison; Father Colville presents the wax charm inscribed with “Nyx,” a Triskele word meaning “vengeance,” to paint her as a member of a dangerous sorcerous clan. The symbol is thus co-opted by the prosecution, stripped of its cultural meaning and turned into a mark of guilt. Fire, as seen in the courtroom’s hearth and in the execution itself, symbolizes both the physical destruction of the accused and the purging of political threats. The novel’s use of fire is not merely punitive; it is a tool of state power, consuming those who stand in the way of authority.

Complexity and Contradiction

The theme is not presented as a simple top-down conspiracy. The novel complicates the picture by showing how the accusation process relies on the participation of the accused and the community. Alison, despite her innocence, internalizes the language of the confession, describing herself as “a vengeful spirit, a servant of darkness.” This internalization is a form of psychological coercion, but it also reveals the difficulty of resisting a narrative that has already been written. Furthermore, the community’s complicity—as seen in Elspeth’s testimony and the crowd’s murmurs—suggests that political exploitation works through social pressure as much as through institutional force. The novel also shows that the accusers are not monolithic: John Stewart’s motives are personal (he seeks to cover his own tracks), while Father Colville’s are professional (he serves the king’s chamberlain), and the bishops are concerned with maintaining ecclesiastical authority. These overlapping interests create a web of exploitation in which Alison is merely a convenient target.

The modern timeline, glimpsed in chapter 59 and the epilogue, adds another layer of complexity. Erin’s recovery and the reappearance of the book suggest that the legacy of these accusations persists, but the novel does not draw a direct parallel between historical and contemporary politics. Instead, it implies that the mechanisms of fear and scapegoating are enduring, even if the specific forms change.

Study Questions

1. How does Patrick Stewart’s letter in the prologue frame witchcraft as a political tool?

Stewart first mentions his debts, then his illness and his brother’s plot, and finally claims witchcraft is behind both. This sequence suggests that the accusation serves to deflect attention from his financial troubles and to justify his actions against his brother by casting him as demonic.

1. What role does Father Colville play in manufacturing evidence against Alison?

Colville orchestrates the trial, produces the wax charm, and coaches witnesses like Elspeth. He conflates healing with witchcraft and dictates Alison’s confession, ensuring that the narrative serves the earl’s political interests.

1. Why does Alison confess, and what does her confession reveal about the theme?

Alison confesses to spare her children from further torture. Her confession is a calculated sacrifice, but it also demonstrates how the accusation process forces the accused to internalize the political narrative, even while knowing it is false.

1. How does the novel use the triskele symbol to advance the theme?

The triskele is a cultural symbol of the Triskele clan, but Father Colville presents it as evidence of witchcraft, turning a marker of identity into a mark of guilt. This co-optation shows how political exploitation redefines symbols to serve its purposes.

1. What does the Author’s Note add to the theme of political exploitation?

The note reveals that Alison’s retraction was recorded, a rare occurrence that suggests the prosecution lost control. This historical detail complicates the theme by showing that the machinery of accusation was not always seamless, yet it also underscores the tragic outcome: Alison is executed despite the rupture.