Richard Cavendish (occult writer)

Richard Cavendish (born 1930) is a British historian who has written extensively on the subjects of occultism, religion, the tarot, mythology, and English history.

Personal life

Cavendish was born in 1930 at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, the son of a Church of England clergyman. He lived with his partner in the United States for eight years, in New York and Los Angeles.

Career

Cavendish was educated at Christ's Hospital and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he specialized in medieval studies. He has written both on the political and social history of Great Britain and on the history of folk magic and occultism in the British Isles and Europe. Among his best-known works are The Black Arts,^[1] The Tarot, A History of Magic, and the influential 24-volume set Man, Myth & Magic, which he both edited and contributed to. He also writes regularly for the British journal History Today.^[2]

Cavendish's work is highly regarded for its depth of research and agnostic stance towards its sometimes controversial subject matter. While written for a lay audience rather than for scholars, books like The Black Arts and The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic and Folk Belief remain accessible, reputable, and insightful reading decades after their original publication.

Partial bibliography

• The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages, 1967
• Encyclopaedia of the Unexplained: Magic, Occultism and Parapsychology, 1974.
• Explore Britain's Coastline, AA Explore Britain Guides
• The Great Religions
• A History of Magic
• Images of Britain, W.H. Smith Exclusive Books
• King Arthur and the Grail: The Arthurian Legends and Their Meaning
• Kings & Queens: The Story of Britain's Monarchs From Earliest Times
• Legends of the World
• The Magical Arts, Arkana
• Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural, 1970-1972 (24 volumes)
• Mysteries of the Universe
• Mythology: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1980
• 100 Great Wonders of the World
• 1001 Historic Sites You Must See Before You Die
• The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic and Folk Belief, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1975 ISBN 0-7100-8117-0
• Prehistoric England
• The Tarot, London: Chancellor Press, 1975
• Visions of Heaven and Hell
• Wonders of the World
• The World of Ghosts and the Supernatural, 1994

References

1. Witches reported active in Toledo, Toledo Blade, 3 Dec 1968, p2
2. http://www.historytoday.com/author/richard-cavendish