Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy-tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores the types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, the childless woman, and the elderly woman, who for centuries have been censored, repressed, and even killed. Chollet concludes that rather than being a brief moment in history, the harassment and oppression of these women continue. Women today are direct descendants of those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions, facing the same sort of judgments and stereotypes that women have battled for centuries. With fiery prose and arguments that range from the scholarly to the culture, In Defense of Witches seeks to unite the mythic image of the witch with modern women who live their lives on their own terms.