''Witchfinder General'' is a 1966 novel written by Ronald Bassett. It tells the heavily fictionalized story of

Matthew Hopkins Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

, a notorious 17th-century

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

er. According to historian Malcolm Gaskill, in Bassett's novel Hopkins is a 50-ish

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

lawyer "who becomes a

pikeman A pike is a very long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the Early Modern Period, and were wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayon ...

in a parliamentarian

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

to escape his creditors, and from there reinvents himself as 'a black-winged Attila, leaving behind him a trail of gibbet-hung corpses'." Promoted as a horror novel, the back cover

blurb A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dust jacket of a book, and are now also fou ...

of the book warned that the contents were "Not for those with delicate stomachs." The book served as the basis for

Michael Reeves Michael Reeves (17 October 1943 – 11 February 1969) was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best remembered for the 1968 film ''Witchfinder General'' (known in the US as ''Conqueror Worm''). A few months after the film's rel ...

's violent and controversial 1968 film of the same name, also known as ''

The Conqueror Worm "The Conqueror Worm" is a poetry, poem by Edgar Allan Poe about human mortality and the inevitability of death. It was first published separately in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1843, but quickly became associated with Poe's short story "Ligeia" afte ...

''.

References

1966 British novels British historical novels British horror novels British novels adapted into films Novels set during the English Civil War Novels set in the 17th century Witch hunting in fiction Barrie & Jenkins books {{1960s-horror-novel-stub