Explore how literature has shaped our understanding of witches, women, and power throughout history. Followed by a Q&A.

From Circe in The Odyssey to Shakespeare’s weird sisters in Macbeth, literary representations of witches have shaped how we imagine witchcraft. But the witch has rarely been just a supernatural character – she can also represent women who challenge social expectations, disrupt established power structures, and choose their own path.

In this talk, Dr Dorka Tamás uncovers how writers have used witchcraft to examine gender, agency, and power throughout history. Discover how twentieth-century women writers reclaimed the witch as a way to explore oppression, historical persecution, and female power – from Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willowes to contemporary interpretations. Consider why the witch remains such a potent figure in literature, and what our fascination with witchcraft reveals about our own ideas of power and social hierarchy.

Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7:30pm – come down early to grab a good seat!

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Speaker Bio:

Dr Dorka Tamás is a researcher and teacher at Royal Holloway, University of London, specialising in twentieth-century women’s poetry, the literary legacy of early modern witch hunts, and post-1945 American culture.

Description supplied by the event organiser.