Lives of the Necromancers

First published in 1834, William Godwin’s Lives of the Necromancers is one of the earliest comprehensive histories of those who sought to command the dead and traffic with forbidden powers. In these pages are gathered the stories of sorcerers, magicians, alchemists, and occult philosophers whose names became entwined with darkness, fear, and awe.

Godwin traces the lineage of necromancy from the magicians of antiquity through the medieval conjurers and Renaissance occultists, revealing how each pursued knowledge beyond the limits of the natural world. Far from legend alone, these accounts expose the human fascination with forbidden arts, from the summoning of spirits to the search for immortality.

Part biography, part occult history, Lives of the Necromancers is a sweeping exploration of mankind’s darkest curiosities—where ambition and blasphemy walk hand in hand, and the pursuit of hidden power often ends in ruin.

Complete edition of William Godwin’s rare 1834 classic

Explores the history of sorcerers, necromancers, and occult philosophers

Traces the evolution of forbidden knowledge through antiquity and the Middle Ages

Essential for readers of occult history, folklore, and esoteric biography