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Toil and Trouble by Melanie R. Anderson & Lisa Kröger

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Toil and Trouble

A Women's History of the Occult

by Melanie R. Anderson & Lisa Kröger

Narrator Tegan Ashton Cohan

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Length 7 hours 59 minutes

Language English

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Summary
About the authors
About the narrator

This celebration of forgotten magical women, from Salem to WitchTok, is a fascinating and empowering read for anyone interested in occultism or feminist history.

Meet the mystical women and nonbinary people from US history who found strength through the supernatural—and those who are still forging the way today. From the celebrity spirit mediums of the nineteenth century to contemporary activist witches hexing the patriarchy, women have long used magic and mysticism to seize the power they’re so often denied.

Organized around different approaches women have taken to the occult over the decades—using the supernatural for political gain, seeking fame and fortune as spiritual practitioners, embracing their witchy identities, and more—this book shines a light on underappreciated magical pioneers, including:

Dion Fortune, who tried to marshal a magical army against Hitler;

Bri Luna, the Hoodwitch, social media star and serious magical practitioner;

Joan Quigley, personal psychic to Nancy Reagan;

Marie Laveau, voodoo queen of New Orleans;

Elvira, queer goth sex symbol who defied the Satanic Panic;

and many more!

History Nonfiction Social Science Body, Mind, & Spirit

Melanie R. Anderson is an assistant professor of English at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. Her book Spectrality in the Novels of Toni Morrison was a winner of the 2014 South Central MLA Book Prize. She co-hosts The Know Fear Podcast.

Lisa Kröger holds a PhD in English. Her short fiction has appeared in Cemetery Dance magazine and Lost Highways: Dark Fictions from the Road. She’s an adjunct instructor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast. She co-hosts The Know Fear Podcast.

Tegan Ashton Cohan is a classically trained actress, physical comedienne, and entrepreneur. A Wellesley College alumna, she's studied with Shakespeare & Company, The National Theatre Institute, and The Meisner Center, among others. She owns and operates Daizy the Clown & Company, bringing to her work a comedic timing honed over decades of professional clowning. She narrates and produces audiobooks as Howl at the Moon Audio. Her voice has been described as deliberate, spirited, and wry . . . "a little bubble-up with your shut-up!" In other pursuits, she raises money for charity by selling her homemade jams and runs a D&D game and a coven. She loves dogs and books.