The Magic of Rogues is one of the latest additions in the excellent, much-needed series Magic in History Sourcebooks, which provides an opportunity to read medieval and early modern primary texts on magic, properly placed in their social and intellectual contexts. The underlying objective of the series is to show historical magic in action, and this is what Klaassen and Hubbs Wright's book successfully does. The Magic of Rogues is about two early sixteenth-century English cases of practicing necromancy, understood—in accordance with the contemporary, misleading use of the word—as ritual demonic magic, not necessarily involving the summoning of the dead. The first case in the book is that of William Neville, a gentleman poet known for his allegorical Castell of Pleasure (1518), and, above all, a practicing student of magic. In 1531 he engaged with several cunning men in order to obtain prophecies regarding his fate and social advancement. Since divinatory techniques tended to be considered suspicious—especially when their use could be a politically sensitive issue—the news eventually reached Thomas Cromwell, who started an investigation. The second narrative is about a team of nine men who, in 1509, tried to locate the so-called Mixindale Hoard in the Yorkshire moors. The treasure hunters failed to find anything, but the sensational rumors of their nightly search spread widely and they were eventually summoned and interrogated in the Archbishop of York's court.

Both cases are known to students of English magic, as some legal documents related to them have been published before and are mentioned in literature on the subject. But The Magic of Rogues provides the reader with an opportunity to get acquainted, at once, with all available primary texts (confessions, depositions, examinations, etc.), extracted from manuscripts and archival sources, (partly) translated from Latin, and carefully edited. The editors expand the scope of their sourcebook by complementing each set of the legal documents with a selection of contemporaneous magical texts. The purpose is to fill in the gaps in the official investigation papers, which, inevitably, neither provided specific details of magical rituals performed, nor mentioned titles of grimoires and magic books undoubtedly possessed and used by men involved in the two magical enterprises. The editors’ imaginative choice of other known sixteenth- and seventeenth-century magical texts—pointing to relevant images, incantations, practices, and artifacts—feeds well into the legal narratives, offering insight into what kind of necromantic magic could have been actually practiced (and officially scrutinized) in the 1509 and 1531 cases.

The sourcebook is equipped with all necessary reader-friendly features: sufficiently modernized English of the primary texts, informative contextual sections, story summaries, notes, and annotations. Particularly useful are tables that list, identify, and categorize all men embroiled in magical activities and mentioned in the documents. All the careful editorial work makes it easier to go deeper into quite complex magic narratives, which will be appreciated by teachers, students, and non-specialists, for whom the book is also intended.

Naturally, The Magic of Rogues will be of great interest to specialist students of magic as well. The two cases come from the period before the first English witch trials, so the ritual magic involved in them can be viewed in its pure form, unmixed with and untainted by witchcraft beliefs and practices, as was often the case after 1566. Furthermore, the primary sources, collected here, reveal a wealth of themes and details for scholarly analysis, such as—to mention just a few—the abundance of magic books collected, shared, and used; the types of necromancers’ interactions with demons and familiar spirits; the significance of dreams, visions, and prophecies; and the materiality of ritual magic that could not do without a great variety of magic artifacts.

In addition, the editors direct the readers’ attention to some issues that seem particularly important for understanding the Tudor necromancy. These include, in particular, the role played by cunning men, who, while being usually associated with popular rural magic, were in fact hardly distinguishable from learned magicians. The highlight is also on the communal nature of ritual magic, apparently practiced by men who formed a kind of professional network. It is fascinating to think about early Tudor necromancers in terms of a community or fellowship whose members collaborated by discussing their art, exchanging expertise, and planning common magical enterprises. The Magic of Rogues is an inspiring book that encourages readers to look at English necromancy in a novel manner.