“Nothing less than a complete transformation of our concept of witches—from loathsome hag to healing mother goddess—is what Jong accomplishes with panache in this sumptuously and provocatively illustrated book.” —Publishers Weekly This witch's brew of a book is back in all its tantalizing glory to enchant a new generation of readers. Best-selling author Erica Jong here turns her attention to the fantastical and factual world of witchcraft. In beguiling poetry and prose, she looks at the figure of the witch both as historical reality and as archetype—as evil crone and full-breasted seductress, as a lingering vestige of a primarveral religion and a projection of fear of the unknown. Joseph A. Smith's powerful, haunting illustrations enliven each page, as Jong investigates the witch as a survivor of the age of sorcery, as a scapegoat for male-dominated church-state politics, as a remarkable natural healer, and as a hexer without peer. Real recipes for love potions and flying lotions, along with formulas for spells and incantations, make this book a rich journey of mystery and delight. Available in paperback for the first time, Witches has been a favorite since it was published more than 20 years ago—a testament to the enduring fascination with the myths and truths about these intriguing figures.

Erica Jong is the author of the novels Fear of Flying, Shylock's Daughter, Inventing Memory, and Sappho's Leap. She has also written six volumes of poetry and a number of nonfiction works, including the memoir Fear of Fifty. Jong lives in New York City and Westport, Connecticut. Joseph A. Smith, a painter and sculptor, is a professor of fine arts at Pratt Institute in New York City.